Newton's Third Law
by Barrel of Monkeys
Summary: How would the Naruto and Harry Potter worlds change if Harry was raised the traditional Hatake way?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

**Summary**: _How would the Naruto and Harry Potter worlds change if Harry was raised the traditional Hatake way._

**Warnings**: _implied child abuse, OC'ness, Future- Het, Slash (no one should discriminate against love), underage, fluff, smut, and lemon_

_Unbeta'd_

* * *

**Meet Kei**

o.O.o

Kakashi was tired. He had just finished a mission, and was immediately called to the Hokage's office for an urgent matter. Sure, the Hokage wouldn't mind his blood stained ANBU uniform, but still, he wanted a nice hot bath, even a short shower would be wonderful at the moment. Of course, there was the possibility that the Hokage would just send him on another mission, and then there would be no need to clean. Whatever Kakashi was thinking, was far from what he was about to hear.

Kakashi slipped into the Hokage's office through the window and silently waited behind the old man. He didn't wait long for Sarutobi to put down his brush and address him.

"Ah ANBU Inu, I believe you can remove your mask for this occasion." Kakashi was a little confused but quickly complied to take off the mask and clip it on his belt.

"A curious thing happened a couple months ago. A wind storm swept through the Hall of Records, and left quite a mess."

"Do you want me to investigate the matter, Hokage-sama?" Kakashi was confused. If this incident happened months ago, why would he be sent now to look into it?

"No no, that is quite alright. You see a pile of records were completely scattered about, but one family record was left unharmed and laying innocently on top of the pile." Sarutobi was an old man, and had seen many things in his life, but he never grew tired of confusing and frustrating his hardened ANBU. Finding occasions like this to completely baffle them, kept him doing paperwork all day long.

"Is the family under suspicion?" Kakashi asked.

"Oh no, you see it was your family record." Sarutobi had to inwardly chuckle at the copy-nin's completely baffled expression. Yes, the little things in life were always amusing.

"I don't understand where this is going Hokage-sama. Was someone trying to pry into my family's history?"

"Well no. The scroll hasn't been opened in many many years. I was curious about it so I looked into it, and discovered you have some family off the continent. It seems your father had a second cousin who lived beyond the Elemental Countries border." This bit of information seemed to peak Kakashi interest.

"I have living family?" Sarutobi saw the hope shining through the shinobi's face, and was hesitant to impart the good yet bad news on the ninja. He had watched Kakashi ever since he graduated from the academy, and watched as the stoic boy grew even more cold through the years. He had seen how hard Kakashi had taken Minato's death. He also saw the loneliness in the young ninja's eye.

"Kakashi I have some good news and bad news to tell you." Sarutobi watched as the shinobi finally walked around the desk and settled himself in front of the Hokage as if bracing himself for anything.

"When your great uncle died his son was depressed and decided to leave the village. This was fine at the time since he never trained as a shinobi. From what we can tell and what your grandfather was told through letters, your great uncle travelled around for years until he decided to go beyond the borders. He travelled around the foreign lands until he met a woman and settled down in a place called England. He took his wife's last name 'Evans' and had two daughters. He returned once to visit your father just before you were born and then left to go back to his family." Sarutobi let the information sink in before continuing.

"When I read the your family scroll, I decided to send out a team of shinobi to investigate. I had a feeling that something important happened and the situation needed looking into. I sent two new Chuunins to look into the matte-"

"Who went?" Kakashi suddenly interrupted.

"Kotetsu and Izumo. You might want to question them later." Kakashi nodded his head and gestured for the Hokage to continue. "It took a while to organize the travel plans and for them to leave the borders, but they left for 5 weeks and finally returned yesterday. What they had to report wasn't the best of news."

"What happened? Is my family alright?" Kakashi asked. He managed to keep most of the anxiousness out of his voice.

"Your father's cousin passed away a few years ago. They discovered it was a nice peaceful passing and he was in no pain. His daughters both married and had children. The elder daughter Petunia has a son named Dudley, and the younger Lily had a son named Harry."

"Had?"

"Lily was killed along with her husband on the night the windstorm swept through the Hall of Records." Sarutobi had a grave face.

"What happened to Harry?"

"He survived and was placed in the care of Petunia." Sarutobi's face didn't change and Kakashi knew there was something else.

"There's still more bad news." Kakashi stated simply.

"When Kotetsu and Izumo arrived they met a woman named Amelia Bones who I met in my younger days and kept as a contact in the outside world. Apparently, when she heard who they were looking for she took a vested interest in the case. When the trio arrived at Petunia's they decided to observe first. Neither Kotetsu or Izumo would go into full detail of what they saw, but they requested to have more village centered missions in the future."

Kakashi was a little shocked at that. Shinobi were trained to see the most gruesome of battlefields and still not waver. As Chuunin's Kotetsu and Izumo should have been used to less than savoury situations. What could have possibly make them want low rank gopher missions.

"All they would tell me was that after a day of observing Petunia's family all three of them stormed the house and took young Harry away. Amelia suggested they take Harry here, and after you read the medical report, I think you would understand a little of what they could have seen to prompt such action." Sarutobi handed Kakashi a medical report and allowed the shinobi a few minutes to understand.

Kakashi read the report and knew that if he weren't wearing a face mask then the Hokage would have seen how pale his face went. Little Harry had to be treated for lacerations, severe bruising, rashes, infections, and bruised and broken ribs. Kakashi checked Harry's age and felt like he was going to sick. All this damage was done to just a baby. A few months past his first birthday and he had to endure this.

"How long was he with them?" He needed to know.

"According to Amelia, a month and a half." Kakashi felt like he needed to get Kotetsu and Izumo a gift of gratitude for getting Harry out of there. He could guess that they witnessed some of the abuse that was administered on Harry and even though he didn't know Harry, he felt grateful towards to duo.

"Where is he?" He needed to know. He needed to protect his second, third, something related to him cousin.

"In the hospital under observation. I take it from your reaction that your are agreeable to adopting him?" Sarutobi knew the answer as soon as he asked, but still waited for Kakashi to voice it.

"I would like to. I don't know anything about raising children and I'm only 17, but I think I can get help." Sarutobi smiled at the young ANBU.

"With you raising him, I bet he will make a fine shinobi when he graduates the academy at 12."

"Twelve? Harry will be raised the same way all Hatake's are raised. Just like myself and my father he will graduate the academy at five, like a true Hatake prodigy." Kakashi developed a stubborn glint in his eye.

Sarutobi wouldn't fight the decision. It was the Hatake way after all, and for some reason it always worked. "What will you call the child?" Might as well move on and finish this meeting. There was a pile of paperwork still left.

"Hatake Kei."

"Kei? That's it? How about Keitaro, Keiran, or Keigo?" Sarutobi suggested.

"No. Just Kei."

"It's rather short. . ."

"I'm lazy."

"Fine, whatever you feel is best."

"Thank you Hokage-sama."

"I'll have the paperwork ready tomorrow afternoon, why don't you go to the hospital and see your new charge. I'll admit he is rather cute. It's a shame he will wear a face mask in the future." It was true. Sarutobi had visited the child earlier and could remember that adorable little face looking back at him with those bright green eyes. Unfortunately, that was another Hatake family tradition he couldn't change. All of them wore facemask and had the dog pact.

"I will clean up and head straight there. Thank you Hokage-sama." Kakashi quickly moved and jumped out the window to head home.

Sarutobi sighed and hoped that was one thing little Kei wouldn't pick up from Kakashi. There was nothing wrong with using the door.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

**Summary**: _How would the Naruto and Harry Potter worlds change if Harry was raised the traditional Hatake way._

**Warnings**: _implied child abuse, OC'ness, Future- Het, Slash (no one should discriminate against love), underage, fluff, smut, and lemon_

_Unbeta'd_

* * *

**The Ritual**

Today was a very special day to Kakashi. It was the day that Kei would turn three, and would start his path to become a great shinobi. Kakashi was proud of himself of how he managed to raise Kei the last year and a half. The whole parenting thing wasn't as hard as he thought it would be.

Kakashi had met Kotetsu and Izumo outside Kei's hospital room and they were both eager to help the little angel they rescued. So naturally, Kakashi invited them over all the time, and happened to disappear when Kei needed his diaper changed. While on missions, a lovely elderly woman around the corner offered to watch him.

It worked out well since Fujioka-san was a retired civilian schoolteacher and was ecstatic to teach Kei to talk, read and write Japanese. With that part of his education covered and the constant presence of Kotetsu and Izumo, all he really had to do was play with Kei, and offer a warm body to cuddle at night when the little boy had nightmares from his time with the Dursley's. Parenting was easy; he didn't understand why so many people complained.

Now that Kei was three, Kakashi planned a three-day camping trip so he could perform the Hatake family ritual. It was the Hatake secret so he needed to perform it well away from any possible witnesses. Moreover, Kei would need a couple days of adjustment afterwards, and having him '_sick_' right after he was happy and healthy on his birthday would raise too many questions. Especially out of the mother hens Kotetsu and Izumo.

Kakashi had mixed feelings about the ritual. He couldn't wait to perform it so Kei could start to grow as a shinobi, but at the same time he mourned the loss of seeing that cute button nose, rosy cheeks, and bright smile on Kei's face every day. Soon Kei would be wearing a facemask all the time like Kakashi and he would hardly ever get to see that cute pout that would form whenever Kakashi had a mission.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Kakashi disentangled himself from Kei, who was still sleeping peacefully, and finished packing for their trip. The schedule for the day was simple. Kakashi and Kei would have breakfast together, and then have fun playing on one of the training fields. Around noon, Kotetsu and Izumo would arrive and the four of them would go out for lunch, and the pair could give whatever gifts they bought to Kei. Afterwards they would return to their apartment grab their stuff, so goodbye to Kotetsu and Izumo at the gates and start hiking to find a nice place to set up camp. Dinner would be served then, Kakashi would set up for the ritual. Once Kei had his food all settled and was sleepy, Kakashi would escort him to the middle of the circle, prepare Kei, wait until he was asleep, and start the ritual. Simple and easy to follow.

Kakashi finished packing and returned to his room to wake Kei. "Let's go sleepyhead, time for breakfast."

"Nii-san, I'm still sleepy." Kei whined while squirming further into the covers.

"I know Kei-chan, but today is your special day, and you do want to have as much fun as you can on your special day, right?" Kakashi only received a cute little grunt as a negative. "I guess that means you don't want the present I have waiti-"Kakashi was cut off as a blanket seemed to fly at him and a small body latched onto his side.

"Nii-san you wouldn't keep my present from me would you?" Kakashi stared down into the huge green eyes of his little brother and laughed quietly.

"Of course not. Now wash up and get dressed, I'll start breakfast." Kakashi truly was proud of Kei. The little boy was extremely intelligent. He seemed to absorb all the language lessons from Fujioka-san. She would spend 10 minutes a day telling Kakashi about how clever the boy, how smart he was how mature he was for his age, and so on and so on.

Kei reminded Kakashi of himself when he was that age. Well Kei was more playful but that was a side effect of having Kotetsu helping raise him. Kotetsu was like a giant kid, and was always willing to dive into a puddle of mud and spend hours playing with Kei. Izumo was the more mature one that took it upon himself to get Kei potty trained as quick as possible and teach him all about hygiene and how to take care of himself. Kei was just a very special boy.

Once Kakashi finished making breakfast, he turned around to see a very eager three year old sitting at the table. He dished out the food and the duo ate quietly. Once finished Kakashi collected the dishes and handed a small box to Kei.

Kei quickly took the box, ripped off the ribbon, and opened the top. He reached in and pulled out a child sized emerald kimono and black hakama. On top of the outfit was a small facemask just like Kakashi's.

"It's the traditional gift given to all Hatake's. When we go to the training fields to play, while stop by the market and you can choose three things that you would like." Kakashi told the adorable three year old that was hugging the clothes to his chest.

o.O.o

While playing around training field 5, Izumo and Kotetsu showed up and the group left to get lunch. They went to the barbeque restaurant, where Kei and Kotetsu at a contest on who could grab a certain piece of meat first off the grill. Kotetsu won 9-1 by the time they left. Afterwards Kakashi retrieved the packed bags and the brothers left for their three-day trip.

As the sun was setting, Kakashi found a nice clearing and had Kei unpack their bags, while he went and set up a series of traps to warn him of any incoming bandits or rogue nins. After that was done, He set up the tent, while Kei got the cooking ware ready. Kakashi collected the firewood, and got everything ready. After dinner, Kakashi set up the circle that he would need for the ritual.

Once everything was complete, Kakashi placed a sleepy half-naked Kei in the middle and bit his finger. Using his blood, he drew a series of kanji on the pale skin of his little brother. Once Kei drifted off, Kakashi used a sleep jutsu. He then placed a strip of leather in Kei's mouth just in case and started chanting.

Kakashi pushed his chakra into the ritual and watched as the kanji on Kei's body started to glow. This ritual was what gave the Hatake's their canine like aspects unlike the Inuzuka who were born that way. Kakashi started picturing a series of different canine species while chanting. He pictured the dogs running in a circle since that was easier to image. Kakashi smiled to himself when he pictured the group of dogs chasing a cat, but stifled his laughter so he wouldn't interrupt the jutsu.

Finally at the end, he placed one hand on top of Kei's messy black locks and pushed a huge wave of his chakra through the boy. Instantly, Kei's body arched and he instinctually bit down on the leather to smother his screams. Kakashi watched as Kei's body glowed as the bloody kanji sunk into his skin.

Kakashi was fascinated when he watched as the colour seemed to drain out of Kei's hair and it turned the same greyish white as his own. Kei's body started to tremble for a few seconds before the boy collapsed and went back into a deep sleep. Kakashi was glad that the sleep jutsu worked and Kei had only felt a small tremor of what the real pain was.

Kakashi bent down and gave a quick inspection. Kei's hair was the most noticeable change. When he woke, he would probably notice the soreness of his body but also in increase in his smell and hearing capabilities. As Kakashi removed the piece of leather from Kei's mouth, he saw the slight lengthening of his canine teeth. Everything seemed in order with no surprise side effects of the jutsu.

Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief as he picked up Kei and brought him into the tent. He had been worried that he would have messed up something and would have to explain a deformed Kei to his ancestors later on. After all, in the past no one else had ever caused any unknown effects while performing the jutsu, and Kakashi really didn't want to be the first.

The ritual was designed to give the Hatake family superior smell and hearing, while acquiring the ability to summon ninken. Now all Kei had to do was write up his own summoning scroll, add a little blood and chakra, and he would be able to find the dogs that would fit his personality the best. He would need to train them of course, but they would be the most loyal companions Kei would ever have.

Kakashi quickly dressed Kei and changed his own clothes before slipping under the blanket and pulling Kei's small body towards his. In the morning, he would go over the finer points of being a Hatake and a shinobi with Kei, as he got used to his new abilities. He would also need to think of instructors to get Kei ready for the academy. After all, he only had two years before Kei needed to be ready to enter and graduate from the academy. Maybe he would ask Guy. . .

* * *

**Who do you think his instructors should be?**

Thank you to everyone who has Reviewed, Alerted, or Favoured this story.

The response was very surprising and quite flattering


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

Summary: _How would the Naruto and Harry Potter worlds change if Harry was raised the traditional Hatake way._

Warnings: _implied child abuse, OC'ness, Future- Het, Slash (no one should discriminate against love), underage, fluff, smut, and lemon_

_Unbeta'd_

AN:

**What is the timeline of this story?** Valid question. Kei was born two years after the Kyuubi attack, thus making him two years younger than Naruto and co. There is a reason for this! I swear!

**Pairing wise**? Well Kei is currently three, I will not be thinking about his pairing for a while. HOWEVER, I will say that I will not pair him with Hermione or Ginny. Sorry fans of that ship, I just cannot do it.

**Slash wise**? I have gotten a few review and PM's of people saying 'No Slash at all!' 'No slash it just isn't right', 'If you make this a slash story I won't read anymore' and also 'there are too many slash crossovers.' The original question was 'Should Kei be in a slash relationship" and in the warning there was mentions of future slash. Therefore, I don't know if the reviewers meant No to Kei being in one, No to slash in general, or didn't read my warning, but yes I wanted to clarify that there will be future slash in this story.

**Why did Kei's hair turn white?** Well I figured since he was getting super awesome hearing and smell, there needs to be some negative effects from the ritual. The chakra shock form the ritual was so great, thus he lost his hair colour and there will be another thing, which will be mentioned later. Like possibly this chapter or the next. It won't be delayed growth of puppy ears. Sorry, to the reviewer who wanted that. As cute as that would be, it does not fit what I have going on right now.

**Difference from manga/anime?** Why yes there is! See this is fanfiction so I'm changing some stuff and whatnot to go with my own scattered ideas for this story. Thus if something is different from the manga/anime then I probably wrote it that way.

**Side story!** Writing this chapter as the trick or treaters come around and one was the best of the night. This 7 year-old boy dressed as Darth Vader, knocked on the door and full Darth Vader voice impression goes "Treat or I use the force to get the goods!" I was so happy I wanted to hug the kid, but I don't think his father would have appreciate a stranger dragging their child into their house. Thus I only complimented him profusely and gave him extra candy. I love Star Wars and that made my night. Plus I should learn to close the door since I have been caught three times already by trick or treaters while having my own mini personal dance party in the hallway. How can you not want to dance to Monster Mash and Thriller? Annnnd now the chapter...

* * *

The Green Beast

o.O.o

The next morning only had one surprise. It seems that picturing a cat while doing the ritual, will in fact mess with it just a tiny bit. It was hardly anything note worthy, and definitely not something, Kakashi's ancestors might be angry about. In fact, without it being pointed out no one would ever have to know. Unless the person was super observant and closely studied Kei's face, they would never see it.

No matter how much Kakashi told himself this, the truth was he messed up. Kei had pupils like a cat. Kakashi had thoroughly tested it by shining a light in Kei's eye several times, and even finding various shadows and shoving Kei into them to see his eyes change. In the grand scheme of things, this was probably beneficial, but they were a dog clan. Cats and dogs do not go together, just like chalk and cheese.

Kakashi decided to ignore Kei's new eye actions and focus on the start of Kei's future shinobi career. He sat Kei down and helped him with his new senses. He first focussed on sound. Since the facemask helped filter smells, it was a secondary concern. He needs Kei to be able to tell the difference between sounds in the forest and quickly identify them.

Once that was established, he helped Kei learn the ability to dull the sounds, so they do not hurt his ears, but still be alert to the smallest of noises. This took most of the morning and afternoon to work out, but Kei caught on quickly. Kakashi was impressed with the speed in which Kei learned, and knew that the next day would be mostly fine-tuning and practice.

As the pair was sitting down for dinner, Kakashi decided to teach the fine art of being a good shinobi.

"Kei, I think it's time I told you some very important rules." Kakashi opened.

"Okay nii-san, I'm listening." Kei tilted his head cutely to the side, and Kakashi felt the eager to squeeze him tightly and squeal , but he was a shinobi and a man, and was able to control himself.

"First rule: Being on time is only a suggestion. Leaving them waiting is the preferable thing to do. Only be early or on time when it's an urgent matter. For example: if the Hokage issues an urgent summons, or the new Icha Icha Paradise is out." Kakashi carefully instructed his little brother. Kei needed to know these things.

"I understand nii-san. Always be late, unless important and urgent." Kei had his complete focus on Kakashi.

"Right. Second rule: Doors are evil. . ."

o.O.o

When the Hatake brothers returned to the village it was too numerous raised eyebrows and questions. Everyone was curious as to how Kei suddenly became the new owner of white hair. No one voiced the question though until Izumo was seen flying at the pair.

"Kakashi what did you do to my sweet little Kei? 'Don't worry Izumo' you said, 'He'll be perfectly safe!' you told me. If he was perfectly safe, then why does it look like he got the shock of his life that his hair was left permanently petrified? This has you written all over it. Now he looks exactly like you!" Izumo continuously poked Kakashi in the chest during his rant. Once he was finished he bent down to Kei and spoke softly.

"Don't worry my sweet little pup. We will grow your hair out so you don't look scared all the time, and it will be more tame. We'll show your evil nii-san that you won't turn out just like him. First if he told you to always be late, disregard that." Izumo softly took Kei's hand and led the boy away. Kei would need some dango to help recover from him apparent traumatizing ordeal with Kakashi.

Kakashi watched on helplessly as Izumo took Kei away. He didn't even get the chance to defend himself and now civilian and shinobi alike will probably think he mentally scarred his otouto. Suddenly Kakashi felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, Izumo has just missed Kei, and this was his excuse to steal him away and spoil him." Kotetsu told the older male.

"I know. However, for the record, I didn't traumatize Kei in anyway. I told him to be on time for important things like; Jiraiya's book signing, and half off shuriken sales."

"I see you covered the important stuff." Kotetsu laughed and started leading Kakashi in the direction he Izumo went earlier. It would be better to be nearby in case Izumo decided to overfill Kei on dango.

o.O.o

Kakashi was having a hard time trying to find people to teach Kei. He needed to return to his ANBU team soon but Kei needed people to teach him everything a shinobi would learn at the academy. There were a few potentials but most were currently away on missions. Kakashi resigned himself to going to Guy.

Guy was well known for his taijutsu and since Kei didn't know chakra control yet, taijutsu would be the perfect place to start. In fact, Kakashi was confident he could get Guy to agree easily if he worded his request right. Quickly thinking of a plan, Kakashi left Kei with Izumo and Kotetsu and went on the hunt for his self-proclaimed rival.

Kakashi found Guy where he expected. The green spandex wearing ninja was in his favourite training field kicking and punching a log.

"Yo."

Guy quickly spun around and seemed to light up at the appearance of his rival. "Kakashi my eternal rival! How can I help you on this fine day when your youth burns brightly?" Guy yelled before striking his signature pose.

"I have a challenge for you." Guy seemed to swell with excitement at the prospect of beating Kakashi.

"Kakashi, whatever the challenge I shall defeat you, for if I don't I will run around the village 100 times without shoes!"

"My otouto needs to learn taijutsu. I bet I could teach him chakra control between my missions before you train him well enough to hold a fight against a Genin for five minutes." Kakashi watched as Guy registered the challenge and seemed to develop a determined aura.

"I shall win Kakashi, and Kei will be able to defeat a Genin before you teach him chakra control!" Guy yelled before running off to do who knows what.

Kakashi was very pleased with himself. Now Kei had a taijutsu instructor. Now all Kakashi needed to do was teach Kei chakra control. Looking around, Kakashi grabbed a bunch of leaves and hurried home. He would start Kei on these two areas before he expanded. Once Kei showed an acceptable level of understanding of taijutsu and chakra control, he would see if Izumo would teach him history and Kotetsu could teach him some fun ninjutsu's.

o.O.o

Kei enjoyed his time with Guy. The older boy was happy and seemed to really enjoy teaching. Guy had immediately had him run through a series of weird moves, and did a quick inspection of his body before declaring he knew the perfect style of taijutsu to teach him.

Kei looked forward to his lessons. Guy taught him a style that seemed to focus on Kei's small size and speed. He also learned how to put his weight behind a hit, so that he could have better results against an opponent.

At one point, Guy tried making him wear a matching spandex outfit, but before Kei put it on Kakashi, Izumo and Kotetsu rushed him and bluntly told guy that 'No Hatake would ever wear such an outfit'. Kei had to respectfully decline Guy's gift, since his family had told him it was not appropriate for him to wear such a thing.

Kei also had fun learning from his nii-san between missions. Kakashi carefully explained everything about chakra and chakra pathways. He then taught Kei how to find his chakra core and how to feel his chakra flowing through his body. Kei always listened patiently and once the explanation as over would ask for clarification on certain points.

Two months after his birthday, Kei semi mastered the leaf lesson. He was able to walk around and do normal activities without the leaf falling. The only area he had problems with was when he had his taijutsu lessons with Guy.

Kei would be so focussed on his training that the leaf would fall and neither Kei nor Guy would realize until they took a break. Kei was determined to master the leaf exercise soon. He wanted to make his nii-san proud, and to do that he needed to be able to keep the leaf to his forehead all day, even if he was training with Guy.

Kei was pretty happy with his life. He didn't have friends his own age but he did have a great family. His family would teach him new things, and play with him whenever they could. He still remembered the few months he stayed with that one family. He remembered how the large man would go red whenever he saw him, and how painful most of the hits were.

He couldn't understand why the large man was angry all the time, but he did know he never wanted to return to that place. That was why he was so happy with who he had now. Kakashi was the most wonderful big brother any one could ask for, and Izumo and Kotetsu were like fun cousins. With them in mind, Kei worked hard in all his lessons to make his family proud. When they were happy, Kei was happy.

o.O.o

Kakashi returned from an assassination mission in Grass country to a grinning Guy. It had been six months since Kakashi had approached Guy to teach Kei. In that time Kakashi had spied on a few of the lessons and was rather impressed with the green clad ninja and his ability to teach. Of course, that didn't stop Kakashi from gloating a little when Kei mastered chakra first.

Even after Kakashi had won the bet, Guy insisted that he be allowed to continue teaching Kei. Once Kakashi agreed to let him, the green beast had run off to complete his self-imposed punishment for failure. When he returned later, he told Kakashi that Kei would be able to defeat a Genin before Kakashi could get him to walk on water. Kakashi accepted the challenge. Looking at Guy's grinning face, Kakashi had a bad feeling.

"Kakashi, my eternal rival! I have worked hard, but I am confident Kei is ready to face a Genin! His youth burns so fiercely that I know he can win!" Guy yelled.

"Are you ready to test him then?" Kakashi looked like his usual aloof self, but inside he was worried. Kakashi knew Guy would never send Kei into the ring before he was ready, but Kakashi still had the fear Kei would get seriously hurt in this fight.

"Yes I do. Tomorrow at 3 pm. We will meet at training ground four. I found a Genin willing to help, and can't wait to see how my pupil does! Teaching Kei gets me more excited for the day when I can take on my own Genin team."

"Alright, I'll bring Kei tomorrow." Kakashi slipped away in his normal manner, but as soon as he was out of sight, he rushed home. When he got back to his apartment, he found Kei napping on his futon. Kakashi took a few minutes to watch Kei, before he removed his uniform and slipped under the blankets. He pulled the sleeping boy into his arms and settled down to nap with his otouto.

Izumo and Kotetsu watched Kakashi from the door. Once Kakashi seemed settled, they quietly closed the screen and left. They were always happy when they saw how much Kakashi cared for Kei. They knew about the fight tomorrow and were just as worried about Kei, but knew if they tried to crawl into bed to cuddle with the sweet little boy, Kakashi might hurt him them for intruding on his time.

The pair decided they would arrive around 4. . . Kakashi was guaranteed to at least arrive an hour late with Kei.

o.O.o

Kakashi spent two hours doing nothing but cuddling with Kei refused to leave until he got his fill. Kei didn't seem to mind so Kakashi continued to hold his otouto and glance at the clock every now and then. When 4:30 rolled around, Kakashi knew he needed to get Kei to the training field. Gathering his lightly napping otouto, Kakashi leapt out the window and ran across the rooftops to get this fight over with.

Kakashi woke up Kei before they arrived at the training ground, and had him run by himself the rest of the way to start to warm up his body. When the pair finally reached the designated area it was to find two amused Chuunin, one excited Jounin, and one angry Genin.

Kakashi pushed Kei forward and leapt back before yelling 'Begin'. The Genin seemed confused for a moment before Kei landed a hit into the Genin's stomach. The confusion was quickly wiped off the Genin's face as he rushed forward to attack Kei.

Kakashi was impressed with Kei's ability to stay calm. He used his small size and speed to avoid all attacks from the Genin, and even managed to land a few of his own hits. The fight had been going on for 15 minutes when Kei went on the offensive.

Kei ran up a tree and jumped above the Genin's head. He then twisted in the air and managed to kick the Genin across the face; the Genin stumbled back and grabbed his face. Kei landed swiftly on both feet and rushed forward to punch the Genin in his now unprotected stomach. When the Genin hunched forward Kei jumped up and performed another spinning kick to the Genin's face, and knocked him over.

Kei landed on the fallen Genin's back, grabbed both arms, and twisted them behind the Genin's back and pinning him to the ground. Kei then pushed all his weight down onto the struggling Genin's back before quickly using one hand to let go of the Genin's arms and hitting a pressure point on the Genin's neck to put him to sleep.

Once the Genin was successfully incapacitated, Kei stood up and looked toward Guy, as if waiting judgement.

"Wonderful my youthful apprentice! A truly magnificent fight to watch." Guy yelled and struck his signature pose.

Kakashi was immensely proud of Kei. He held his own and managed to avoid getting even a scratch. Kakashi turned towards Izumo and Kotetsu who looked extremely eager to rush to Kei to congratulate him, but held themselves back as Guy reviewed the fight.

"I was wondering if you two would be willing to teach Kei history. I already asked Fujioka-san if she would teach him everything they learn at a civilian school, and she seemed delighted." Kakashi said.

"Of course we will!" Kotetsu quickly said. He seemed overly eager at the chance to help Kei with his shinobi training. "Oh Izumo we need to go to the craft store now. We need coloured paper, and glue and . . ."

Kakashi blocked out Kotetsu excited chatter. He didn't want to know what else the excited Chuunin would request in his mission to teach Kei. Kakashi quickly strode over to his otouto, but before congratulating him, Kakashi turned towards Guy.

I challenge you to teach him to hit the bulls-eye every time, before I get him to master water walking." Kakashi took off his hip pouch and handed it over to a now determined Guy. Knowing that his challenge was accepted, Kakashi quickly bent down and picked up a grinning Kei. "Well little one I believe a celebratory dinner is in order."

"Oh thank you nii-san!" Kei squealed as he threw his arms around Kakashi's neck.

Kakashi smiled and contemplated taking his own Genin team one day. After all, he was great at this whole teaching thing. Kei just beat a Genin in taijutsu. If Kakashi took a Genin team, they would be the best in the village, but he wouldn't think about that until he was old and grey.

* * *

The response to this story is overwhelming.

Thank you to everyone who has Reviewed, favoured, and alerted this story.

The reviews make me happy and make me want to write more just to hear back.

and you know. . .the whole beta thing. . . if anyone is willing. . . I wouldn't mind. . .


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

Summary: _How would the Naruto and Harry Potter worlds change if Harry was raised the traditional Hatake way._

Warnings: _implied child abuse, OC'ness, Future- Het, Slash (no one should discriminate against love), underage, fluff, smut, and lemon_

_Now beta'd by Kyuubi no Goddess

* * *

_

o.O.o.O.o

Femme Fatale

Kei worked hard on everything he did. He practiced his aim and chakra control whenever he could, but the best part of his day was when Kotetsu arrived. Kei knew that Kotetsu was normally laid back and hardly did anything, non-shinobi related, unless Izumo pressured him. Hence, Kei loved his classes with Kotetsu, because Kotetsu seemed to come alive with enthusiasm.

Kotetsu took his job as a History teacher to Kei seriously - well as serious as Kotetsu could get when not in a life threatening situation. He went out, bought a bunch of art supplies, and made a large banner that depicted a timeline of Konoha history. He even went as far as drawing pictures to the more memorable events. For example he drew a giant fox with a yellow haired man standing on top of it head with his arms up in triumph. Kei didn't need to try hard to figure out which even that was.

Izumo let Kotetsu teach however he wished, except he made sure to stay in hearing distance in case Kotetsu got a little too enthusiastic and something happened. He already had to stop his partner from rallying the academy students and instructors, to enact the first shinobi war, fun as it would have been, he doubted that the villagers would have been happy with the entire village being over taken by one giant game.

Kei never had a set schedule. Since most of his instructors were shinobi, they had missions, and it made it impossible to plan when they next lesson would be exactly. Sometimes he would spend three days with Fujioka-san, and then be whisked away for 2 days by Kakashi for tracking training. He could spend the morning with Guy and then the afternoon with Kotetsu and Izumo, and after dinner back with Guy to train some more.

It was during one of the morning training sessions with Guy that he met a new person. Usually Kakashi kept his interaction with others very limited. That day was different since Guy had brought a friend along.

"Kei my young and energetic apprentice, I want you to meet someone!" Guy yelled as he came towards the small boy practicing with Kunai.

"Yo." Kei gave a lazy wave and slowly turned around. Standing beside his instructor was a woman with thick wavy black hair, and red eyes.

"This is Kurenai Yuhi. We graduated the academy together. While I was in the market this morning I ran into her and she decided to tag a long for the day!" Guy struck his signature pose.

Kei always wondered why he struck that pose every time he delivered 'Good News'. Maybe it was a reflex. Kei directed his attention back to the woman and gave another lazy wave before turning back to the target.

"He looks like a chibi Kakashi. Will he also run around reading those filthy books?" Kurenai whispered to Guy. Kei had to silently laugh; the woman clearly did not know that the Hatake's had superior hearing. Kei decided not to tell her.

"Kei is similar to my rival in many ways, but he is also unique in his youthful form. Kei will do great things, I can see it now!" Guy had somehow managed to whisper and yet keep that enthusiastic yell in his voice. Kei was impressed.

"Okay but if you see me screaming and trying to escape the village, it will be because I saw him reading a familiar orange book." Kurenai whispered. Kei turned slightly and from the corner of his eye saw that she was smirking.

Maybe Kei should investigate this orange book. It would be fun to find Kurenai to read the 'orange book' so she could see him. He might even follow her just to see her reaction. He might bring Kotetsu in on the plan. He knew that the young man would probably find just as much joy out of the mission as Kei would.

Guy informed Kei that Kurenai would just observe while the two of the practiced together. Kei just shrugged showing he didn't care either way and continued doing what he wanted. After all rule three of 'The Hatake Way' was; Hatake's do what they want, when they want, where they want. Unless told otherwise by the Hokage. Then Hatake's do what they want, when they want, where they want, out of view of the Hokage.

The practice went on for an hour before Kurenai spoke again. She leapt down from the tree she was in and asked Guy if Kei had tried using senbon yet. Guy replied in the negative so the kunoichi, made her way over to the mini Kakashi and asked if he would like to learn.

Kei was always up for learning new things and readily agreed. Kurenai showed him how to hold the senbon and how to throw and aim. It was difficult at first, but Kei quickly caught on and was able to throw the senbon as well as he did kunai and shuriken.

Kurenai was impressed with the mini Kakashi. He was attentive when being taught and focussed when practicing. He was a quick learner, but Kurenai thought she saw something else hiding there when she taught him. Thinking quickly she told Guy she had to look something up and left.

Kurenai headed straight for the library. She vaguely remembered a taijutsu style that worked well with senbon and tessan. If Kei was suited for it, than he could have a mean secret weapon. She arrived at the library and searched through the taijutsu scrolls until she found the one she wanted.

Kurenai copied that scroll as quickly as she could before she checked out with the librarian and returned to the training ground. She had been gone for an hour but the duo was still practicing. She called Guy over and handed him the scroll. Kei was apparently curious and had followed Guy over. He read the scroll by slipping in front of Guy and between his arms.

Guy got excited at the challenge of learning and teaching this new style, and Kei just seemed excited at more learning. Before either could start, Kurenai stopped them.

"Guy, why don't you study the scroll so that later you will be better prepared to teach Kei. Meanwhile, Kei will come with me. I want to teach him something that only a kunoichi can pass on." Kurenai didn't let either of the males respond before she pulled Kei away and led him away from the training field.

o.O.o

Kakashi returned from a month long mission, and couldn't wait to see Kei. When he entered his apartment he quickly walked into the living expecting Kei to be working on his homework or something. The sight that greeted him, may have taken a few years off his life, if his stopped heart was anything to go off of.

There was Kei, his sweet adorable wonderful otouto, sitting in the middle of the room in a pink kimono and playing with a pink and purple fan.

"Kei what are you doing?" Kakashi managed to get out after his heart started again.

"I'm practicing like Kurenai-san said I should. She's teaching me something only a kunoichi can pass on!" Kei excited voice told him.

"Kei what was rule ten?" Kakashi asked.

"Rule ten was. . . 'Always remember: Kunoichi are a demon class of their own'." Kei recited perfectly.

Oh his poor sweet little naive Kei was dragged into something terrible by that demon class. "Kei what do you think that means?"

"Um. . . that I shouldn't have listened to Kurenai-san?" Kakashi almost squealed at how cute Kei was when he seemed to concentrate hard on something. Kakashi could see the bridge of Kei's nose scrunch up adorably and could practically see the cute little canine tooth biting Kei's bottom lip.

"Exactly. Now go change and we'll go out and do something befitting of the male species." Kakashi pulled in his fangirl-ish side and authoritatively told Kei.

"Are we going to go play in the mud again?" Kei excitedly jumped up and rushed off.

"Exactly! Because men should always look roguish!" Kakashi called after Kei. That wasn't exactly true, but Kakashi liked playing in the mud with his ninken, and it was a reason to get Kei out of that kimono. He would have to remember that burn that thing tomorrow to ensure Kei never wore it again. He would also need to keep Kei away from Kurenai. That woman was apparently trouble.

o.O.o

A month before Kei's fourth birthday, Kakashi was ready to test the boy's tracking skills. Kei had done a remarkable job in all his lesson thus far, and if he kept on this steady path, then he would be more than ready to graduate in a year.

Kakashi had been teaching Kei the fine art of tracking and stealth, and decided he was ready to test his skills against a team of Genin. He went and hired a team from the missions office and when Kakashi and Kei arrived 45 minutes after the agreed time, Kakashi explained the rules.

"The Genin team will run into the forest and hide. Kei will wait ten minutes before following and his task is to find all three of you before noon. You are allowed to move and run. If you get caught, you must return directly here and give me a report on what went wrong and how Kei caught you." Kakashi watched as the three Genin's rolled their eyes and seemed to instantly dismiss Kei due to his size and age.

"We will do this exercise three times to get the best results." Kakashi added. The team still seemed bored and Kakashi was starting to look forward to when they got caught. He knew they would get caught.

Kei strolled up to the three and gave a lazy greeting to each one. Kakashi knew Kei only did that to get their scents. The team didn't seem to notice, which caused Kakashi to smirk under his mask.

"Good, let's begin. Team you have ten minutes to run and hide before Kei comes to take you down." Kakashi watched as the team casually strolled into the forested area and had a quiet conversation.

After ten minutes, Kakashi let Kei enter the forest. Once Kei entered, Kakashi heard Guy, Kotetsu, Izumo and the devil woman Kurenai drop from their hiding places. "Bets?" he lazily asked.

"Five minutes and all three of them will be back here." Izumo spoke up.

"Three" Kotetsu added.

"Six minutes before he catches the young team!"

"Four minutes and the last will come back beaten up." Kurenai added.

The group waited patiently for a minute when the first member of the team exited the forest. Kakashi waved them off to the side to wait while the second left the forest as well. They waited another 30 seconds and the final member came out, unscathed and followed by a happy looking Kei.

"Three minutes! Who knows Kei the best? That's right! This man right here!" Kotetsu yelled as he did a little happy dance. The others decided to block him out, but were a little miffed that he guessed right. Kakashi just smiled and waved the team over to hear how they were caught. He could not wait to start the second round, there was guaranteed to be an interesting fight.

* * *

Kyuu and I were talking about pairings and couldn't decide who should go with whom.

This story wont be pairing based but I'm a softy and would like to see a Happy Ending,

If you have a suggestion on who should go with who, let me know.

Later I will choose the ones I like most and put up a poll.

P.S Yay for Kyuubi no Goddess for offering to be my beta. She is ridiculously awesome and has agreed to harass me if I take too long to update.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

Summary: _How would the Naruto and Harry Potter worlds change if Harry was raised the traditional Hatake way._

Warnings: _implied child abuse, OC'ness, Future- Het, Slash (no one should discriminate against love), underage, fluff, smut, and lemon_

_Now beta'd by Kyuubi no Goddess

* * *

_

_Iruka Interlude  
_

o.O.o.O.o

On Kei's fourth birthday, Umino Iruka was sitting in a well known shinobi bar, having a drink to celebrate. He just passed the exam to become an academy teacher and couldn't stop smiling. The other Chuunin who also qualified to be an academy teacher were sitting around him, chatting away when the door opened to admit three Jounins, and two Chuunin.

Normally Jounin and Chuunin interactions were limited due to the different levels that the two different shinobi worked at. Jounin tended to keep to hanging around other Jounin, while Chuunin mainly interacted with Chuunin and Genin. Seeing such a large group instantly drew the attention of the entire bar, Iruka's table included.

The group seemed to dismiss the observers and claimed an empty near the celebrating academy teachers. After they settled in and placed their orders with the bartender, slowly the other patrons returned to their own conversations.

Iruka continued to observe the table from the corner of his eye though. He knew who everyone was at the table, but mainly through reputation. In Konoha, Jounin were pretty well known in the shinobi ranks. He even knew the Chuunin since they sometimes worked with him at the mission office.

The three Jounin were Yuhi Kurenai, Sarutobi Asuma, and Hatake Kakashi. Kurenai was a well known genjutsu master, and rumoured to be an aspiring fashion designer. Asuma was the son of the Hokage, but also a chain smoker who loved using trench knives. The most well known was Kakashi. He was one of the elite, and rumoured claimed he had one of the largest bounties on his head in any countries bingo book. Iruka didn't really believe the rumours since Kakashi had always appeared at any meeting extremely late, reading trashy novels, and had a lazy disposition.

The two Chuunin were Kotetsu and Izumo and not much was known about them, except their general dislike of taking missions outside the village. The rumour mill said that they went out once and fought a vicious demon that nearly sucked the life out of them, but they were thankfully saved at the last moment by Kakashi, hence their undying loyalty to him. After that, they only took jobs within the village and were rumoured to live with Kakashi as his servants.

Iruka subtly moved his chair away from the table and closer to the people he was thinking about. He leaned back and slumped slightly in his chair, making it appear as if he was merely relaxing. After that, he listened carefully to the conversation the five were having.

"Did you see how bright his eyes were?" Kurenai asked the others.

"I think it was the best surprise we have even given him." Kotetsu spoke up.

"I still don't understand why you needed to give him a collection of purple and green kimonos and yukata's she-demon." Kakashi spoke. Iruka noted that his voice has a slight whine to it.

"I can't believe I return from the daimyo to find Kurenai and Kakashi playing a kid. When did this all happen?" Asuma asked. Iruka slightly perked up. Kakashi and Kurenai had a love child together. They were so young. How did they raise the kid when both were still active shinobi?

"Well about... two and half years ago Kotetsu and I found the little guy and took him away from his guardian. Next thing we know were sitting down to dinner and Kakashi storms in and demands we tell him everything and then screams how he will never let anyone hurt his family ever again." Izumo spoke. Iruka was trying to work out what happened in his head.

Kakashi and Kurenai had a child together. Sometime after the child was born, they probably both left for a mission, and they person they left this 'Kei' with had hurt him. Izumo and Kotetsu had apparently spotted the kid and rescued him. When Kakashi returned he immediately went to Kotetsu and Izumo.

Two and half years ago was when the pair started to demand that they be allowed to stay in the village. Maybe they were not servants to Kakashi but the other way around. Why go out on dangerous mission when you can stay home and have your own Jounin bring home the money and take care of you. Kakashi was the real servant, and Kurenai probably raised Kei. Iruka figured that had to be the truth. After all, it matched both Kurenai's and Kakashi personalities to have their child's name start with 'K'.

"I can't believe that we have been helping you raise Kei for over two years now. I mean I always wanted to be a big brother, and when Kei fell into our lives it was like a really awesome gift."Kotetsu spoke. Iruka figured he was addressing the parents.

"I agree with Kotetsu. Having a little brother is probably one of the best reasons of being a ninja. Even if we only stay in the village it feels like were working hard, no matter what we do, to protect him and keep that smile on his face." Izumo added.

"Yup, certainly makes being a shinobi worth it." Kotetsu said.

Iruka thought for a moment on their words. He always searched for another reason for being a shinobi besides honouring his parents. When he found out he couldn't stomach killing at mush as his fellow Chuunin, he immediately signed up to train to be an academy teacher. Even that gave him a new sense of purpose, but something still felt empty. Maybe having his own little brother would help fill that void. After all, Kotetsu and Izumo said they still felt like they were protecting the village and something precious even if they were only doing paperwork.

"I can't believe Kei is four today." Kakashi said in a wistful tone.

Iruka's thought's screeched to a halt. Four? Kei is four? That would mean Kakashi and Kurenai had been sixteen when Kei was born. How had Kurenai hid her pregnancy from the rest of the village?

"So do all of you teach him?" Asuma asked.

"Every chance we get. Plus Guy helps as well." Kurenai answered.

Iruka was shocked. How had they kept Kei a secret for so long, especially with so many people teaching him? They should have been spotted at some point, and the shinobi rumour mill would have spread that news like wildfire.

"Asuma would like to meet Kei? Maybe you could teach him something as well." Kurenai asked in a sweet voice. Iruka felt bad for Kakashi. It seemed as if his lover/girlfriend was flirting with other men in front of him. They had a child together that woman should have more decency than that.

"I think it would be fun to see the mini Kakashi." Iruka could picture a mini version of Kakashi. Same spiky hair, same one black eye, just really short. He almost laughed but didn't want them to know he was listening.

"Well he won't remain a Kakashi clone for long, if I have anything to say about it." Kurenai spoke with a smug tone. 'Maybe Kakashi mainly raises him; I really don't see him in the mission office a lot.' Iruka thought.

"Will you stop dressing him up as a girl, you she-demon. I have already burned every kimono you have given him and had several long talks on what it means to be a man. He is a boy not a girl for you to play dress up with!" Kakashi harshly told the woman. 'Well if he treats her like that no wonder she flirts with other men.' Iruka thought.

"Whatever you crazy woman, I'm getting another drink." Iruka watched as Kakashi stood up and went to the bar to order anew drink. Deciding it was time to go, he swiftly bid farewell to his companions and left the bar.

As Iruka left, he failed to notice the ten pairs of eyes watching him as he left. The group had known the moment Iruka started listening, but didn't curb their conversation. After all, most shinobi knew that Kei was Kakashi's little brother. The fact that he seemed a little too interested in Kei worried Kakashi. He would have to research this Chuunin. Nothing hurt his little brother.

As Iruka walked down the street, he organized his thoughts on the conversation he just heard. Although hearing that Kakashi and Kurenai had a child together was shocking, it wasn't the part of the conversation hat stuck with him the most. It was the talk about how wonderful it was to have a little brother.

As he rounded a corner, a small body ran into his. When Iruka looked down he was shocked to see the little demon container staring at him fearfully. He was always neutral about the demon carrier. Yes he was upset that his parents died fighting the demon, but he couldn't really see the demon in this small boy in front on him. To Iruka he was just a child.

Looking at the kid, Kotetsu's words kept repeating in his head. He did want a little brother, and this child was an orphan. Moreover, with the way the villagers treated him, he was sure the child wanted someone to look after him at least once in his life. Making up his mind, Iruka bent down to the same level as the child and held out his hand slowly.

"Hello, my name is Umino Iruka." Iruka spoke softly.

The child hesitated and after a few moments finally spoke but refused to touch Iruka. "Uzumaki Naruto."

Iruka was curious as to why the child was out so late at night and asked before he could think.

"I fell asleep hiding in a tree. When I woke up it was already dark out." Was the response he got.

"Well since it's so late, why don't you stay at my apartment for the night. It's much too dark out for a child to walk home alone. I live just around the corner so we won't have to go far." Iruka held out his hand for the child to take. It was a big step and he was more than likely to be refused.

"O-okay." Naruto said surprising the Chuunin. Then Naruto lightly took his hand and seemed to brace himself. When Iruka did nothing Naruto opened one eye and looked at him amazed before giving Iruka one of the brightest smiles he had ever seen.

"Do you like ramen Iruka-nii? I love ramen. Ichiraku-oji makes the best ramen in all Konoha!" Iruka walked the child back to his apartment and listened to the excited chatter the whole way. He already felt happier and fuller in his decision to be a shinobi since he met Naruto. Kotetsu and Izumo seemed to be right about one thing; having a little brother was a wonderful feeling.

o.O.o

A month after the bar incident, Iruka was traveling home with groceries, when he spotted Kakashi sitting on a rooftop with a mini version of himself beside him. Guessing this was Kei, Iruka redirected his path so he could catch a glimpse at the child. When he got close enough to see the child's face, Kei looked up and locked his with him. Iruka's stepped faltered shortly when he saw the large bright green eyes staring at him.

"Umino-san." Iruka quickly looked to where Kakashi was pinning him with a piercing glare. "Can we help you with something?"

"No, I was just going home after picking up some food." Iruka answered.

"Kei-chan. This is Umino Iruka; He just qualified to be an academy teacher. Maybe you will have him as an instructor when you join the academy." Kakashi introduced him. Iruka had a sudden fear that Kakashi knew more about him than what was comfortable.

"Hello Umino-san. Would you like to join us?" Kei asked in a sweet innocent voice.

"What are you doing?" Iruka didn't see what the two could possibly be doing sitting on a rooftop.

"Rule number nine!" was the reply.

"Rule nine?"

"Nii-san, I thought he was a ninja. Why doesn't he know the rules to being a great shinobi?" Kei innocently asked. Iruka had to stop and stare.

'Did he just say nii-san?' Iruka thought. Iruka's thoughts started spiraling out of control. Were Kakashi and Kurenai so ashamed of having a child they paraded as Kei's older siblings?

"Well Kei-chan, either Umino-san here is not a very good shinobi or he forgot them. Why don't you remind him of rule nine and we can see." Iruka felt indignant at Kakashi's comment. He was a fine shinobi.

"Umino-san, rule nine is: Always watch people, because you never know when they will do something silly. Like that guy! He just stepped in dog poo!" Kei giggled.

Iruka turned a dead look on Kakashi. This is what he told his son made a good shinobi. Watching people as the embarrass themselves. All Iruka received in return was an eye smile from the Jounin.

"Kei-kun, I really don't think that's a real ru-"

"Umino-san, I really hope you are a good instructor. I would hate it if Kei went to school and only received a mediocre education. Kei why don't you go to the other side of the roof and watch the Inuzuka clan train their ninken."Kakashi said.

"Okay nii-san!" Kei immediately got up and ran to the other side of the roof searching for the Inuzuka clan.

"Tell me Umino-san" Iruka froze when Kakashi was suddenly behind him and had a kunai to his throat. "Were you about to tell Kei that my rules were not real? Were you going to tell an innocent child that the person they look up to is a liar? Do you enjoy hurting children like that Umino-san? Because if you do, then I would be honour bound to tell the Hokage and have you teachers certificate taken away, that you worked so hard for." Kakashi whispered into his ear.

Iruka slowly shook his head no, and was instantly released.

"Wonderful!" Kakashi was in front of him now and back to his happy demeanor. "Well I'll let you get on your way then Umino-san."

Iruka didn't even hesitate to get away from the man. Iruka understood why Kakashi was so feared. If that was just a little taste of the real persona Kakashi wore when on mission, he would run screaming as well.

When Iruka got home, he saw Naruto playing in his living room. A week after meeting Naruto, Iruka insisted the boy live with him. Afterwards he started teaching the child to read and write and all the basics he would need to start at the academy. Thinking back to Kakashi and Kei, Iruka got an idea.

"Naruto I'm going to teach you some rules to being a good shinobi." Naruto instantly perked up at the statement and quickly ran to sit beside Iruka. Iruka looked at the blonde fondly before starting.

"Rule 1: People with white hair and face masks are people to avoid. Rule 2: No children until you are at least twenty."

* * *

So I read this one story where the author wrote the same story but one version was slash and the other wasn't

I warned people that there would be slash in the story from the very start

most are fine with Kei being in a slash relationship, some encourage it, and some don't like it.

Point Being- Would you (the wonderful and amazing readers) rather I have 2 versions of this or not.

Essentially it would be the same, in fact it would probably be word for word except when Kei's eyes wander to appreciate the male form.

Anyways it's up for debate.

Side question: Does anyone else get the strong urge to eat ramen when watching Naruto?


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

Summary: _How would the Naruto and Harry Potter worlds change if Harry was raised the traditional Hatake way._

Warnings: _implied child abuse, OC'ness, Future- Het, Slash (no one should discriminate against love), underage, fluff, smut, and lemon_

_Beta: Kyuubi no Goddess_

___**Prodigy Pair-up**_

"Okay Kei now it's time that I test you on what I have taught you." Kurenai said as she watched Kei sitting on top of her dresser and swinging his feet.

"I'm ready sensei!" Kei happily chirped.

"Now Kei, I'll be wearing this black dress out to a very special meeting tonight, what should I wear with it?" Kurenai asked as she held up her favourite black dress.

Kurenai knew what the males in Kei's life wore clothing wise, and was set on preventing him from becoming another fashion victim. She had stolen him away as often as she could and taught him the fine art of fashion. Now was his graduation test.

"Um.. ." Kei scrunched up his nose and looked deep in thought as he ran over all the accessories in Kurenai's room. "Well if you're wearing black than you should wear something to make a nice contrast." Kei jumped down from the dresser and walked into her closet.

"I think these red shoes, and then if you wear silver and red jewellery you should look great!" Kei happily said as he held up a pair of red heels.

"Wonderful you pass!" Kurenai exclaimed as she took the shoes. "Now starting tomorrow I will teach you some ninja techniques that all Kuniochi know. It will mainly consist of how to use your body to escape certain situations. Also I want to teach you why we women are superior to men." Kurenai explained.

"But I'm a boy Kurenai-sensei." Kei pointed out.

"No Kei, you are different."

"I'm not a boy?" Kei looked scared at the statement.

"Well you are a boy Kei, but you are too cute to be included in the category of men. Therefore you belong with women in the superior race." Kurenai lightly patted Kei's head as she watched the boy try to understand.

"I think I need to talk to nii-san about this." Kei finally stated.

"NO! Don't tell Kakashi. He would only get. . . Jealous! You don't want to upset your brother now do you?" Kurenai hastily asked.

"No... I like nii-san happy..."

"Exactly! So this will remain our little secret. Just like how I dressed you up and took you to the market to introduce you as my little sister. Right? Our...Little...Secret."

Kei remembered that day. After he got home to nii-san he had immediately told his brother what Kurenai-sensei did. Kakashi hadn't been too impressed and the pair had asked Izumo and Kotetsu to join in as the spent three days following Kurenai everywhere. They each carried an orange book, when Kurenai would try to approach they would body flicker away and another would take up position nearby.

Kurenai finally cracked and shouted in the middle of a restaurant that she was sorry for whatever she did and wouldn't do it again, if they would just stop. It was terrifying waking up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water to find one of the four sitting at her kitchen table reading that orange book. She officially hated the colour orange after that.

"Right our secret!" Kei knew to tell nii-san about this. The only secrets he kept from nii-san were from the Hokage and how Kakashi's futon got covered in chocolate pudding. The official story was that Kei and Kotetsu had been napping and they heard a large crash to see a pudding bandit trying to escape through the bedroom window. Kotetsu attempted to stop him but the bandit dropped the pudding. The bandit was apprehended, and handed off to the ANBU for intense questioning.

"Okay well it's almost time for me to go to a very important meeting, you should start heading home." Kurenai said.

"Bye Kurenai-sensei!" Kei happily exclaimed as he jumped down and rushed to the window. "Have fun on your date with Asuma-nii!" Kei yelled before quickly jumping out the window. Kei giggled as he ran across a few rooftops when he heard Kurenai shouting after him.

Kei dropped down and decided to pick up a few groceries. Kotetsu ate the last of the pudding, and Izumo had been complaining about eggs earlier. Kei walked into a store and picked up the items he wanted. After paying and getting a free chocolate bar from the clerk, Kei departed and started the journey home.

Kakashi was out on a mission and would be home in two days. Izumo and Kotetsu were both working late at the missions office, and Guy-sensei had been left for a mission he day before. As Kei was deep in thought, he stopped paying attention to his surroundings. Once he rounded a corner, he ran into a bigger body.

The collision resulted in three things. First, Kei's face rubbed against a hard stomach causing his mask to slip, and Kei getting the full force of the persons scent. Second being that he looked up to see a pair of dark eyes staring down at him in shock. Lastly, Kei dropped and broke the eggs.

"Oh! I am so sorry!" Kei quickly extracted himself from the older boys body and replaced his mask. He only exposed his nose, but still. The mask dampened the smells so he Kei was eager to replace it.

"I must also apologize. I was also at fault." The older boy said.

Kei looked up and took in the older boys appearance. He was tall with black hair that was tied in a small ponytail at his nape. He had dark eyes and lines around his eyes that showed he was tired and had pronounced tear troughs. He wore a black shirt and shorts with the Uchiha fan on them.

"No Uchiha-san, It's fine. I was the one lost in thought." Kei said as he bent down to pick up his fallen groceries. Kei was a little upset over the eggs. They had broken and covered his pudding in gross egg guts. Kei sighed at the loss of his wonderful treat.

"I think you need to purchase new food items. I'll escort you to the store." Kei quickly looked up at the older boy. Kei had heard about the Uchiha clan and was told to not expect any kindness. Especially if they he was related to Kakashi.

"I couldn't ask that of you Uchiha-san. It's fine." Kei tried to dissuade him.

"It was partly my fault for the accident. I should at least help you acquire fresh groceries to make it up to you." Kei nodded his head and found a place to throw away the ruined food. Kei and the older boy returned to the store Kei just left and the older boy surprised Kei by paying for the eggs and pudding.

The Uchiha stayed with Kei until they reached Kei's street. They didn't speak, but the entire trip Kei was memorizing the older boy's scent. He was sure that the story of a nice Uchiha would be too hard to believe and he would need to show nii-san which Uchiha it was exactly.

"Thank you Uchiha-san." Kei said as the pair stopped.

"You're welcome Hatake-kun." The older boy said before he flickered away.

Kei smiled to himself and quickly leapt up to the bedroom window to enter his apartment.

o.O.o

Kei was happily running around one of the training fields playing with one of his brother's ninken, when he felt the approach of someone. Kei decided to ignore them since they didn't smell threatening. He recognized the smell, but couldn't place a face of name with it, since it was still faint. Kei started giggling again when the dog tackled him and the pair started rolling around.

Kei was suppose to be practicing his speed and endurance, but after awhile Urushi (the white dog) decided it preferred tackling and tickling Kei instead of training. Kei happily complied and it started a weird game of tackle tag.

Kei felt the person settle in a tree to watch and still ignored them in favour of trying to catch Urushi. When Kei finally caught the dog, the pair collapsed panting on the ground. Kei finally recognized the scent and rolled on to his stomach. He rested his arms and chin on Urushi's back and stared at the tree containing the Uchiha.

"Hello Uchiha-san! It's nice to see you again." Kei watched as an ANBU with a weasel mask drop down.

"How did you know it was me?" The ANBU asked in a monotone voice.

"I memorized your scent. You smell like campfire and spring, but with the faint hint of wet earth that all Konoha citizens have." Kei simply replied.

"Itachi." The ANBU stated before removing his mask.

"Kei." Kei smiled at the boy and gave a small wave.

"Is that short for something? Like Keigo..." Itachi asked.

"No." Kei answered simply. "Just Kei, nii-san is lazy and didn't want to give me a longer name."

"Do you know what you smell like?" Itachi asked as he walked forward and sat in front of the boy on the other side of Urushi. He was trying to change the subject since it seemed the younger boy didn't like the questioning of his name.

"Nii-san said I smelled liked a thunder storm and dogs like him. But he also said I smell sweeter than him as well. I like nii-san's smell. It's comforting to smell at night and always promises nice dreams."

"Hatake-sama is a very intriguing man..." Itachi mumbled to himself.

"You know nii-san won't like it if he finds out his kohai was trying to learn about him, by using his little brother." Kei stated simply again.

Itachi saw the brief look of sadness flash across Kei's face when the boy thought Itachi only to talk to him to learn about Kakashi. "I always thought Hatake-sama would smell like wet dog. Now that I have discovered the truth my curiosity is satisfied."

"Oh, well it was nice talking to you again." Kei saddened by the conversation started to get up to leave.

"Would you like to play?" Itachi asked.

"Play?" Kei asked as he turned to face the older boy again.

"Yes, that game of tag you were playing earlier looked fun. You know I didn't come to see you to learn more about Hatake-sama. I was more curious about you."

"You really want to play with me? Does that make us friends? I don't have any friends that are younger than Kotetsu-nii and Izumo-nii." Kei said quickly, an eager expression on his face as he questioned the boy.

"I guess that does make us friends." Itachi gave the small boy a soft smile. "How old are you Kei-kun?"

"I'm four!" Kei happily answered while holding up the required number of fingers.

"I have a brother who is two years older than you. Well shall we play?" Itachi asked.

"Yes!" Kei yelled before rushing forward and touching Itachi. "You're it!" Kei quickly flickered away. Itachi looked down to see that the white dog had also disappeared. Itachi was impressed with the small boy and quickly flickered over to where he sensed the child.

The game lasted an hour, and Itachi quickly learned that Kei was tricky. He was an expert at setting up traps quickly. Itachi would get to Kei's current position only to set off a series of traps. He would watch as the young boy would giggle before taking off again. The dog wasn't any easier to catch, but Itachi had fun.

When the trio finally stopped to rest, Kei lay down beside Itachi and snuggled into his side. Itachi was surprised at this action, and was reminded of Sasuke when he was the same age.

"Itachi-nii I have a present for you." Kei said softly.

Itachi watched as the boy reached into his pocket and took out a black leather necklace with three rings evenly spaced. "I made it at Kurenai-sensei's and wanted to give it to my first friend." Kei explained.

Itachi took the necklace and examined it quickly. He was actually touched that Kei gave it to him and quickly put it on. "I promise to never remove it as long as we remain friends Kei-kun."

"I'm glad were friends Itachi-nii." Kei smiled brightly at the older boy. "Do you want to train with me?"

"Train?"

"Nii-san and everyone else at our apartment is helping to train me. I'm suppose to join the academy when I'm five and graduate! So far I have chakra control down and my own taijutsu, plus all the things taught at the civilian and shinobi school. I also have some weapons handling and tracking. I'm starting on infiltration soon!" Kei eagerly explained to the older boy.

Itachi was impressed with Kei's knowledge. He didn't think that boy was that good. He guessed he had some training but when related to the famous Copy-nin and not having a clan to protect him, Itachi just assumed the body was taught enough to evade capture. He was also curious about who trained him. He guessed the Kakashi, Izumo, Kotetsu, and Kurenai all helped but he also couldn't help but think there was more.

"I could do that. I could also teach you some things as well, but this needs to be a secret." Itachi warned.

"I can keep secrets! Well not all secrets but I only tell Kurenai-sensei's secrets because she dresses me in pink and nii-san had forbidden her from doing that." Kei rambled. "Did you know she once tried to enter me in a girls beauty pageant!"

Itachi had to try hard to keep in his laughter. He could see why Kurenai tried that. Kei was a cute kid from what could be seen of his face. He had big bright eyes and tan skin, and he remembered a cute little nose from their first meeting. Kei's hair was long and, tied up in a high ponytail with the bangs falling into the young boy's eyes. He could easily pass as a girl.

"Well as long as it stays a secret from my clan, than I will happily train with you."

"Okay! Now after endurance training we are suppose to go into the market and practice rule 7." Kei told the older boy seriously.

"Rule 7?"

"You know shinobi rule 7: Avoid cats. Nii-san said that cats are almost as bad as Kunoichi on their 'time of the month' whatever that means. He also said that cats take the eyes of their victims, especially the black ones. That a cat's fur reflects their heart. I'm supposed to go and find cats and poke them before trying to escape their fury." Itachi once again had to use most of his self-control to keep from laughing at the serious and horrified look on Kei's face as he talked of cats.

"Well if that's today's training. I guess we should got find a cat to taunt and run away from."

"Evade! We try to evade the cat's fury." Kei lectured.

"We could do that, but didn't our game of tag do the same thing, but with a lower risk of eye loss." Itachi pointed out.

"You're right! Yay, no cats today! Can we get dango?" Kei turned big puppy eyes on Itachi.

Itachi sighed at the sight. He already had a hard time denying those eyes on Sasuke, and now he had another one to try to deny. He wasn't good at this. "Fine, but do you mind if we pick up my otouto?"

"D-do you... think he will like me?" Kei quietly asked the older boy.

"I think he will like you just fine." Itachi reassured the boy.

"Okay, but since you lost tag you have to pay." Kei quickly flickered out. Itachi wanted to protest but he found himself alone in the clearing, Even Urushi had taken off.

The pair never managed to get their dango. As soon as they left the training ground, an ANBU messenger arrived informing Itachi he had a mission. Itachi promised to make it up to Kei before taking off. Kei sighed before dragging Urushi off to eat. He wanted dango but the woman at the cafe nearby had banned him from eating there more than once a week. He wanted to save his weekly visit for when nii-san returned.

Kei quickly diverted his attention when he got a craving for ramen. Telling Urushi where they were going the pair quickly ran to Ichiraku's and happily sat on the stools eagerly waiting for their food to be ready.

* * *

I enjoyed the response I got from my side question.

I learned I'm not the only one with those cravings, and not the only one to cave to them.

Side Questions: What's your favourite cereal? or Who read Chapter 516? Was I the only one who was teary-eyed at Gaara's speech?

Also as a heads up, this story will now contain a whole lot of rare pairings.

I finally settled on some and had fun choosing them.

I like Captain Crunch. . .


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

Summary: _How would the Naruto and Harry Potter worlds change if Harry was raised the traditional Hatake way._

Warnings: _implied child abuse, OC'ness, Future- Het, Slash (no one should discriminate against love), underage, fluff, smut, and lemon_

_Beta: Kyuubi no Goddess_

**Graduation Gratification**

Today was the day that several shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village was scared of. Today was the day that Kei would enter the academy. They all knew that he would be just fine but it was the fact that their little boy was growing up so quickly.

Kakashi, Kurenai, Guy, Kotetsu, Izumo and even Asuma, stood in front of the academy talking to Kei and making sure, he was prepared. Only Kakashi and Kei knew that Itachi was hiding in a tree nearby watching the entire spectacle.

"Do you have everything? Did you pack your writing stuff? How about your weapon pouch and bento? Oh, did you grab your bento? I woke up extra early this morning to make it, and added most of your favourites."

"If you forgot it I can quickly return to the apartment and grab it for you. Maybe you are not ready to go to the academy yet. We can always wait a year."

"Izumo, Kotetsu, leave the poor boy alone. I'm sure he'll be just fine." Asuma told off the two Chuunin who were trying to smother the boy in their shared hug.

"But he's still so small. What if he's bullied?" Kotetsu asked.

"I don't understand why Kakashi insists he start the academy so young. What is wrong with waiting until he's eight or even twelve. I heard that becoming a shinobi at twenty is becoming quite popular." Izumo added.

"Can you stop suffocating him so others can wish him luck?" Kurenai said.

"You are not getting near my otouto while that horrid frilly purple thing is still here." Kakashi spoke quickly. He still disliked the Kunoichi for all the outfits she forced Kei to wear. That is why he was on constant guard when she came around. He spotted the girl shirt as soon as she arrived and tried to keep his body between the two.

"But-"

"No. Besides he needs to go in soon and I want to give him the same speech my father gave me before starting at the academy. Also no matter what you say Kotetsu and Izumo, This is Hatake tradition, and it will not be ignored. Now step aside." Kakashi watched as the pair reluctantly let go of Kei and stepped away.

Kakashi bent down in front of Kei and raised a hand to brush the bangs out of Kei's bright eyes. Then he reached behind the little boy and fixed his ponytail that had been mussed by the Chuunin's attack.

"Kei, the Hatake family is a proud and strong family with a rich history. You will be the youngest and smallest in there, therefore seen as the weakest. You are not weak. A Hatake is never weak. Size does not determine the strength of a ninja. A shinobi's heart, belief in themselves, and their desire to protect the special people in their life, is what a true shinobi's strength is measured by.

The first step you took towards becoming a Konoha shinobi was taken when you turned three and when you put that mask on for the first time by yourself that was the second step. The next step was taken when you decided to dedicate yourself to all the training offered. The next step you will take is walking through that academy door and then there will only remain two steps to becoming a shinobi. When you graduate from here, I will tell you the next path, the next adventure and Hatake takes. Now go and make me proud, and if you find the classes too easy than I did my job. Don't be afraid to sleep."

Kakashi winked at his brother, which really looked like a blink but Kei knew the difference, before he turned Kei around and lightly pushed him in the direction of the academy entrance.

"I don't believe that your father told you to sleep in class." Kurenai said.

"Well I may have added that bit, but the rest was what he told me." Kakashi responded without taking his eyes of his little brother.

The group stood silently as they watched their little boy approaching the door. Kurenai and Asuma tensed and started to rush towards Kei when they saw an object suddenly flying in his direction. The only thing that kept Kurenai and Asuma from rushing forward to intercept the object was Kakashi holding their shoulders. They watched as Kei snatched the item out of the air without looking and continued walking. Kei held out the item and showed them a Prussian blue fan.

Kotetsu and Izumo who had been in momentary shock at seeing the potential death of their charge before he even reached the academy snapped out of their stunned states and glared at the direction the item came from. They couldn't see who was hiding in the tree but they knew they didn't like them.

Kakashi knew that Kei had been training secretly with Itachi. He usually followed Kei wherever he went when he had the time and had discovered the pair in an isolated training field. Kakashi approved of the friendship since Kei really did need younger people to talk to, and Itachi was a prodigy, so he could help support Kei.

He talked to Itachi the night before and the young ANBU member told Kakashi that he had a special war fan made for Kei, that he wanted to give him as a gift for entering the academy. Kakashi approved and warned the boy that if he got a present for Kei when he graduated, it had better not outshine the one Kakashi already had waiting.

Kakashi was excited to give the present to Kei. Kei would only be in the academy for three months before graduation exams. Personally, he thought Kei should have been allowed to join a week before the exams, but the Hokage demanded Kei join his classmates for at least three months.

As he watched, his little brother walk through the door, Kakashi felt proud. He had been given a baby when he was teenager with no child raising experience, and no warning. Sure, he was a shinobi but that was experience in killing. He would be forever grateful for Kotetsu, Izumo and Fujioka-san. Now years later, his little brother, his little spark of light was growing up fast.

Kakashi slowly turned and left with the others when it was clear that Kei would not coming running out demanding he not be allowed to start school. As they left, he briefly wondered if Kei would have Iruka.

o.O.o

Kei did have Iruka as an instructor. In fact he spent most his time sleeping through Iruka's class. He wouldn't be as disrespectful as to skip the class, but he did use the time to mediate or sleep.

He had been at the academy for a month and half already and didn't bother paying attention after the first hour he was there. It annoyed Iruka to no ends when he would be woken up and still know the answers or be able to perform the jutsu perfectly.

It annoyed Kei that he had to attend school. He liked when his days were full of training and having fun with his many guardians. Now he had to sit around and waste all that fun time with listening to the Instructors drone on and on. He was considering breaking his no skipping rule. Itachi was due to return from a mission, this morning, which meant he had all afternoon free to play with Kei. Moreover, the older boy owed him dango.

Before Kei's escape plan could come to fruition, the room to the classroom and the Hokage walked through.

"Oh Iruka-kun, how are today?" The old man asked.

"Hokage-sama, I'm doing fine. It's an honour to have you in my classroom Hokage-sama" Iruka responded quickly.

"What are you teaching these fine students today?"

"We we were just reviewing –"

"Oh? So they are only reviewing. I was wondering if you could indulge an old ninja for a few minutes." Kei lowered his eyes. He knew the Hokage was up to something, he just needed to figure it out.

"Well How about I have a small quiz with them. I'll ask a few questions and they write down the answers." Sarutobi didn't even waste a minute in stepping towards the middle of the classroom and addressing the students.

"Everyone grab some writing stuff and we will have a small pop quiz." Everyone rushed to comply with the command. Kei took out his stuff and got ready.

The quiz the Hokage gave was only twenty questions. Kei answered everything with ease and waited to see where the Hokage was going with this.

Once all the quiz papers were handed in, the Hokage handed to stack to Iruka and told the class to follow him outside. He had everyone run through a weapon exercise and observed him or her. Afterwards he returned them to their classroom and said he had one last thing to do before they could break for lunch.

Kei figured out the Hokage's game before they made it outside for the second test. He was going through the graduation exam with the students, but Kei couldn't figure out why.

Sarutobi knew that Kei figured out his game, but he was the only one. Even Iruka was following him confused. The truth be told, Sarutobi was annoyed. Every day since Kei entered the academy Kakashi would sit outside his window and sigh. He would say things just loud enough for the Sandaime to hear such as; 'I wish Kei were here' 'I wanted to show Kei a new restaurant for lunch but he's at school' 'The weather is perfect for water games but Kei is in class.'

When he sent Kakashi on mission Kotetsu, Izumo, Guy or Kurenai would take up his post and sigh, mutter things about Kei under their breath, and he even heard a few sniffles from three of them. Sarutobi also missed his little visits from the young Hatake, and combined with the efforts of the shinobi outside his office window he gave in.

He marched down to the school, interrupted Iruka's class, and started administering the graduation exam himself. He would get this done, announce that it was to see how prepared they were since a shinobi never knew when they would be called on, and be done with it. Plus, Kei was now five and Kakashi had said he would graduate by that age, so it was a win-win situation for everyone.

After the jutsu part, he sat everyone down and told them his intentions. Some looked happy to have graduated earlier than expected and some looked downtrodden since they knew they failed. He handed out forehead protectors to the passing students, after he made Iruka rush out to get them. He then told all the students that failed that they still had to look forward to the graduation exam in a month and half, and they should study and work hard, before he took his leave.

Once he got back to his office and saw that Kakashi and Kotetsu were together, he opened the window and told them simply "Kei just graduated, now leave me alone." He barely finished his statement before the pair were gone.

o.O.o

Kei was ecstatic. He graduated early which meant he never had to sit through another pointless class. Kei waited as Iruka told the ones who passed they had two days off while the teams were formed, and they were to report back Saturday for their team assignments. He also pointed out they needed to get registered.

Once they were dismissed, Kei rushed out only to find his family outside waiting for him. Kakashi was holding a package while Izumo and Kotetsu had a banner. Kurenai was away on a mission but Guy was there smiling and giving him the thumbs up, while Asuma just gave off an approving look.

"Congratulations, my wonderful otouto!" Kakashi said as he rushed forward and embraced Kei.

"We're taking you out for a celebratory lunch." Kotetsu spoke up.

Kei happily skipped along with his family as they took him off to the BBQ restaurant. He couldn't stop smiling. When they arrived they were taken to a private room, and they all enjoyed a wonderful time together.

"Now that everyone is finished I would like to steal Kei away. I have a present for him, but I would prefer he receive it in private." Kakashi addressed the group.

"Fine but afterwards straight back home, I'm going to make him a cake." Izumo spoke up.

"And I need to wrap his present from me, so no worries." Kotetsu added.

"I also have a present that I was waiting to give him. Why not have a small party tonight at the shared apartment?" Guy asked.

The shared apartment had started off as Kakashi apartment. It then became the Hatake apartment. After some time Kotetsu and Izumo took the neighbouring apartment after the occupants moved out. Once they settled in, they knocked out the joining wall 'by accident'. Kakashi allowed it, since it meant he could finally seal up the front door. Kakashi and Kei only entered and exited the apartment from the bedroom window anyways. Now if anyone wanted to visit the Hatake's, they could bother Kotetsu and Izumo. It was their punishment for 'accidently' destroying the wall.

"Fine. Let's go Kei." Kakashi and Kei quickly exited the restaurant and Kakashi led his brother off to a secluded area to talk.

"I have a very special gift for you Kei." Kakashi said as they settled in an empty training field. Kakashi handed over the package he had been carrying and Kei sat down as he handled the package.

When Kei opened the long rectangular box, he found a tanto inside. Kei lightly ran his hand down that hilt and onto the blade. It was a simple design with a plain scabbard but just the feeling he got when he first touched it, he knew it was something special.

"My father Sakumo had this tanto. It is called the 'White Light Chakra Sabre'. It gave him his nickname 'The White Fang' and it was passed down to me. When I had it, it broke the same day that Obito died. After his death, I went back into the forest and found all the pieces. I kept them tucked safely away, but when you came into my life, I took them out again. I had the pieces re-forged, and have waited for the day that you would graduate so I could pass it down to you."

"Thank you nii-san." Kei looked at his brother with watery eyes and an awed expression. It was one thing to hear about the Hatake family, and another to actually hold something from their family history.

"Now, I'll show you how to use it." Kakashi took the tanto out of the box and stood up. He walked a few paces away from Kei and demonstrated on how to use the weapon. "The white light given off is because of the Hatake family's unique chakra."

"So our chakra is white, just like our hair?" Kei asked as he walked forward to use the sabre for the first time.

"I guess you could look at it that way." Kakashi handed over the sabre and taught Kei how to use it properly. They ran few a few movements, and Kakashi promised to find someone to help Kei with handling his gift.

As they were training, they felt a familiar chakra approaching. Kei stopped and faced the direction and waited for his friend to arrive. As he stood there, a blur of black was seen before Kei tackled his friend to the ground.

"Congratulations Kei, I just heard they did an early graduation exam." Itachi said.

"Thank you Itachi. Look what nii-san gave me!" Kei untangled himself from the older boy and rushed to retrieve his new weapon. He presented it to his friend and waited to hear what he said.

"It is very nice. It suits you very well. I was going to get you a present but I figured I still had a month and half to wait." Itachi informed the boy.

"I'll leave you two to talk, but Kei I want you home in twenty minutes." With that Kakashi took off so the two friends could have some fun.

"Only twenty minutes?" Itachi said.

Kei noticed the slight pout and laughed at his friend. "In Hatake time, Twenty minutes is really an hour and a half."

"Oh well then we have an hour and half to test out your new toy." Itachi instantly brightened up and demanded to see how the 'White Light Chakra Sabre' worked.

o.O.o

Kurenai arrived back from her mission and decided to check on her favourite boy. When she got to the apartment, it was to see Kotetsu running around and fretting about 'perfect decorations'. On one pass, she reached out, grabbed his collar and demanded to know what was happening.

"The Hokage held an early graduation test today and Kei passed. We're getting ready for a party." Kotetsu then broke her hold and rushed off again muttering about the blue streamers that he had somewhere.

Kurenai drifted off into various fantasies about what Kei would wear as the ninja outfit. She could already picture him in some really cute outfits, that she would need to take him shopping, to complete.

When Kurenai snapped out of her daydreaming, she threw herself into the preparations and helped Kotetsu. She even stopped by the kitchen to tell Izumo of a really good banana flavoured icing recipe that Kei enjoyed when he was at her place last.

When Kakashi arrived back, Kurenai recruited him into helping Izumo. When Kei arrived later with a trailing Uchiha, they didn't bother asking questions since majority of the party guests surged forward and tried to smother Kei with affection.

It was a good party and Kei enjoyed all his gifts. Guy had given him ankle and wrist weights. Izumo gave him a pouch full of green senbon, and Kotetsu got him a black and green sleeping bag and matching tent. Kurenai promised to take him shopping for his ninja outfit, and promised to actually let him choose for himself. Asuma gave Kei a pair of trench knives like his own.

Kei loved everything they gave him and could not have been happier. Itachi had told him he had an idea of a gift for him but he needed to work out the fine details. In the meantime, he presented Kei with a silver necklace that had a green leaf pendant attached.

That night Kei cuddled up to his brother's side and dreamed about all the adventures his Genin team would go on. Kakashi told him the final two steps to becoming a shinobi were to graduate the academy, and pass the test set by the Jounin instructor he would be assigned. Kei was determined to pass the last one, and knew that nothing would stand in his way of success.

* * *

I thoroughly enjoyed this chapter title. It came to me on a whim.

Well that is a lie. . . I actually went to the online thesaurus and typed joy in and found gratification.

I also think of dinosaurs every time I read thesaurus.

Also I believe Cocoa Puffs and Fruit Loops won the cereal contest.

I asked Kyuu for a question to ask and she said: Which fajita is better, chicken or beef?

I've never had fajita's before but tell me anyways and maybe i'll go and try the winner.

OH! Next chapter: Kei makes a new friend and meets his genin team!

Any guesses who the friend is?


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

Summary: _How would the Naruto and Harry Potter worlds change if Harry was raised the traditional Hatake way._

Warnings: _implied child abuse, OC'ness, Future- Het, Slash (no one should discriminate against love), underage, fluff, smut, and lemon_

_Beta: Kyuubi no Goddess_

**Team Turmoil**

Kei sat on a swing staring at his forehead protector. The blue cloth had been replaced with a black one, but the metal plate was the same. It still held the swirly leaf design that signified Konoha. To Kei it was a bit surreal. He worked hard to get to this point but the entire time he hadn't actually pictured what it would be like to actually be a Genin.

In his mind, he saw himself as big and strong as his brother but when he looked in a mirror, he was still small. He also looked a bit girly with his long hair. When he mentioned cutting it, Izumo and Kurenai both pounced on him and made him promise to leave it long.

Kei was preparing to leave when he saw someone running towards him. Curious, Kei stayed seated and watched as a boy who was at least two years older come into view. He had spiky brown hair, two red triangles on his face and looked like he had something dangerous chasing him. Kei slipped his forehead protector into his pocket and continued to watch.

The boy ran right by him before skidding to a halt and turning around. He quickly drove behind Kei and told the younger boy to keep him hidden. Kei barely had a moment to process this before a girl came running. She had the same brown hair and red markings as the boy, and seemed mad about something.

"Get out here you little shit!" She screamed.

"Are you alright?" Kei asked.

The girl looked at him and seemed surprised to see him sitting on the swing. Once she registered him, she blushed. "I'm so sorry. Ignore my language. Someone young like you shouldn't be hearing such bad words."

"It's okay miss. Can I help you with something?" His young appearance and innocence seemed to have distracted her from her original goal.

"I was just chasing my younger brother. I can smell him around here, but he is really good at hiding. Did you happen to see a boy with matching marking to mine run by here?" She asked sweetly. Either he made an excellent object to hide behind, this girl was partially blind, or a combination of both, Kei could not fathom how she didn't spot the boy.

"I think I saw him go into the trees." Kei replied in his most innocent voice and pointed the direction the boy was running initially. If she couldn't spot him, Kei wasn't telling.

"Thanks sweetie. I wish my brother could be as cute and wonderful as you." She said before running off.

"So what did you do?" Kei asked the strange boy.

"Hey! Thanks for that. I didn't do anything you should worry about." The boy said as he walked around to the front of Kei. "I'm Inuzuka Kiba."

"Hatake Kei." Kei offered.

"Did you know you smell really good?" Kiba asked.

"Excuse me?"

"Well while I was hiding I had an opportunity to smell you. You smell really good like a sweet rainstorm and puppies." Kiba said while he took the neighbouring swing.

"Oh." Kei leaned over and lowered his mask off his nose. He quickly smelled Kiba before pulling back and replacing his mask. "You smell like grass, dogs, and trouble."

Kiba loudly started laughing. Kei noted it was a cross between a childish laugh and a soft bark.

"Maybe I cause a little bit of trouble for my sister Hana, but I never knew it had a smell. So Kei let's play a game." Kei raised an eyebrow at the familiar address before he was roughly grabbed and pulled away from the swings.

"What are you doing?" Kei asked.

"Were going to play ninja. It's really fun." Kiba said as he continued to drag Kei along.

Kiba dragged Kei off to a clearing nearby and gave a quick rundown on how to play ninja. Kei almost giggled at the situation. He was a Genin and playing ninja.

"Alright so that's how you play. I'll be it first so you can get used to the game." Kiba offered while shooting Kei a big grin.

"Okay. Let's start on the count of three."

"Right. 1-" Kei took off. "Hey you were supposed to wait 'til three!"

"A ninja doesn't wait!" Kei shouted back as he disappeared into the trees.

o.O.o

Kei entered the classroom quietly and picked a seat at the back. His brother was right on his first day that the older kids would try to bully him for being younger and weaker. One boy had grabbed his hair at one point and pulled it hard, so Kei retaliated and punched him in the stomach before kneeing in him in the most painful area. After that the others stayed away from him and Kei never bothered learning who any of them were.

Kei sat down and looked around. The team assignments had been given out earlier but Kei had arrived late. A puppy had hurt its paw and Kei had taken it back to its owners. Now he sat in the room watching as Jounins entered and took away their assigned teams.

One Jounin entered and Kei could tell right away he was an Uchiha. The entire clan had a distinct smell. Kei had labelled it the smell of arrogance. The Uchiha walked in and called for team two. Kei watched as a boy and girl quickly rose and walked towards the Uchiha holding hands.

The girl had blonde hair tied up in a bun, and pale skin. She wore black shorts, and a plum purple tank top with some black lace top over it. The boy was big and broad. He had brown hair and a tanned complexion. Kei noticed he had an arrogant swagger to his step.

The pair made it to the Jounin and looked around as if waiting for something. After a minute, the Uchiha seemed to get annoyed and called out. "Is Hatake Kei here?"

Kei perked up and quickly stood. "Present!" He called out as he walked casually down to the trio.

"Great we got the baby." The girl whispered to the boy.

"Now that we're all here let's find somewhere to talk." The Uchiha said as he turned and walked away.

Kei followed the others out of the room and into one of the outdoor training areas.

"Right let's start with Name, Likes, Dislikes, and hobbies. I could care less about your dreams." The Jounin started. "You're up first shorty." He said as he pointed towards Kei.

"Hatake Kei. I have some likes and some dislikes. I have many hobbies." Kei said sweetly while using his eyes to tell the others he was smiling.

The other three just stared at him for a while wondering if he would continue. Finally, Kei gave in. "Am I to choose the next person? I pick brawny over there."

The mentioned boy seemed a little miffed at the nickname but began none the less.

"Hiroshima Rikoto, I like my girlfriend, steak and training towards becoming a medic-nin. I dislike annoyances and mornings. My hobbies are reading my father's medical scrolls and taijutsu."

Kei assessed the boy quickly. He was big and whatnot but he could see a how that would work well with a tackle before thinking type of taijutsu.

"My name is Suzuki Akemi. I like my dear Rikoto and playing with various weapons. I dislike many things that I rather not start naming. My hobbies include shopping and cleaning my weapons."

Kei didn't need to be a prodigy to figure out she would be a long range weapon fighter. Assessing the group they had: a taijutsu fighter, future weapon specialist, a tracker and one Uchiha.

"Looks like we have a well rounded team. I am Uchiha Atsushi. I specialize in genjutsu, but as a member of the Uchiha clan, I am an expert in almost everything. The only thing we don't know is what Hatake-chibi here can do." The Uchiha spoke. Kei didn't like the sound of his voice.

"I'm best at tracking and setting traps. I also have good evasion skills." Kei quickly responded.

"If you say so." The Uchiha said. "Tomorrow we will meet at 7 am and have a test. If you pass the test, than you are officially a Genin. If you don't, I will send you back to the academy. Now go."

Kei watched as the Uchiha left instantly while the couple stood, grasped hands, and started making weird eyes at each other. Kei left quickly and went home.

o.O.o

During dinner, Kei decided to ask a few questions.

"Nii-san, did you like your first Genin cell?"

"No." Kakashi answered automatically. "In fact we didn't get along at all. I didn't like me second or third team either."

"So it's okay not to get along with them?"

"Absolutely! Who is your Jounin sensei anyways?" Kakashi asked.

"Uchiha Atsushi."

"Ohhhh." sounded from everyone at the table. Izumo looked sad on Kei's behalf, while Kotetsu seemed ready to hit someone. Kurenai and Asuma had pitying looks while Kakashi seemed blank.

"Pass his test and in six months we can file for a team transfer. Honestly, what were they thinking putting a Hatake on a team with an Uchiha? The only decent one from the lot is Itachi!" Kakashi finished speaking and quickly gathered Kei into his arms.

"Now tell me more about this Kiba kid you met." Kakashi asked as he released Kei.

"Kiba is awesome! We played ninja yesterday afternoon, and again this morning before I went to team assignments. He's an Inuzuka and tomorrow he promised to show me the kennels." Kei said while his eyes got really bright at the mention of the second friend he made.

"We should invite him over for dinner soon. Although this apartment is getting quite crowded." Kurenai said.

"The apartment next door is empty. Someone could rent it and we could knock the wall out as we did before. I think the living rooms connect so we could just make it into one large dining area." Izumo offered.

"So you admit to creating that hole!" Kakashi yelled as he jumped up and pointed accusingly at Izumo.

"I don't know what you're talking about. It was an accident. Right Kotetsu?" Izumo turned to his partner for help.

"Complete accident. The sledgehammer came to life and made the hole all by its self." Kotetsu defended.

"Now who would take the apartment?" Kurenai continued as if nothing happened.

"I think Guy would be willing to move." Izumo said.

"Not Guy!" Kakashi yelled.

"Maybe, but I have also been looking for a new place. Somewhere with a bigger closet, and it would be a bonus if it was so close to Kei-chan." Kurenai rambled.

"No! The she-devil is worse than Guy!" Kakashi interjected.

"If you do take it than you could seal up your door like Kakashi did. Then we could have one main door like a house." Kotetsu added, also ignoring Kakashi.

"I wouldn't mind getting a place of my own. But if you want a house like atmosphere why don't you just go and buy a house so you could all move into it." Asuma joined the conversation.

"I like my single apartment with Kei." Kakashi said.

"Oh a house with all of us would be wonderful!" Kurenai smiled at Asuma.

"Kei and I are not moving!"

"Yes that would be great."

"Then we wouldn't have to make another hole."

"Probably best, I don't think the landlady liked that too much the last time."

"And Kei could finally have his own bedroom."

"No! I don't want to move!" Kei yelled. His voice instantly gathered the attention of everyone in the room. "I like my apartment with nii-san and I don't want to move." Kei defended himself.

"Well if Kei likes it here, than it's just a question of who will take the apartment next door." Kurenai instantly spoke up.

Kakashi wanted to hit them all for ignoring him, but was glad that they at least listened to Kei and that his otouto wanted to stay. After they finished discussing it, they decided that Kurenai would take the apartment.

o.O.o

Kei appeared at the meeting place around 8:10 am, to find three irate people waiting for him.

"Yo."

"You're late!" Akemi yelled at him.

"Sorry." Kei scratched the back of his neck and sent her an apologetic look. "There was an old woman who nee-"

"None of those stupid excuses Hatake-chibi!" Uchiha said with an extra potent Uchiha glare. "If this was a test on punctuality then you would have failed."

"But then the old lady's clothes-"

"No excuses!"

"Rule 4 says that the worst excuse is always the best excuse. Lousy creepy eyed ninja." Kei mumbled to himself. Luckily, no one heard him. Kei sighed and sat down and waited for his instructor to continue.

"I have two tests set up. The first will be for Akemi-chan and Rikoto-kun. You two will have until noon to get a single scratch on me." The couple instantly started whispering together to form a plan. The Uchiha gave them a happy look before addressing Kei.

"In the T&I department they have a new student. Her name is Mitarashi Anko. Your task is to break into her office and steal something important to her. You also have until noon to finish. If you don't than just walk back to the academy while I take Akemi-chan and Rikoto-kun as students."

Kei glared at the Uchiha. Anyone could spot the favouritism a mile away. Kei sent one last glare at the Uchiha before taking off.

The T&I department was separated from the ANBU buildings so that normal shinobi could bring people in. Kei knew where the building was, and knew that it would be tricky to get in. Most of the ANBU guarding the building were familiar with him, but he didn't know what this Anko person looked like. Kei knew of someone who could help. Plus, Atsushi wouldn't dare to yell at his clan's heir for helping.

o.O.o

Kei slowly crept through the T&I building and tried to locate his target's office. Itachi had told him what he knew about Anko-san and Kei learned that the one thing Anko loved the most was dango. Itachi said that she normally had a few sticks of dango on her desk, and Kei was determined to steal it.

Itachi had assisted him in narrowing down the location of Anko's office and had left him to do the rest. Kei had managed to slip into the building and find the right hallway. The tricky part was getting Anko out of the office and stealing the dango.

Kei had a stroke of luck when Anko left the office and ran to the bathroom. Kei didn't hesitate before sweeping in and avoiding several traps. Kei had done well but tripped the last trap. Kei didn't bother to think as he swiped the dango and ran to avoid the flying kunai. As he was leaving the window, Anko appeared in the doorway and spotted him. She gave a bloodthirsty smile before moving. Kei leapt out of the window and ran.

Anko had chased Kei across the village, but since Kei was smaller, whenever she caught up he managed to just barely avoid her hands. Kei was losing stamina, but pushed forward towards his meeting spot. When he arrived, he dove behind Atsushi and yelled loudly.

"He made me steal it!" while pointing at his sensei.

Kei peeked around the Uchiha when nothing happened and saw an angry T&I member glaring at the Uchiha. Kei looked up to see a pale and terrified looking Uchiha. Kei decided now was the perfect time for revenge.

"He told me to steal your dango or I wouldn't pass the Genin test. Plus he said you were an ugly she-demon and it served you right to be humiliated by a child." When Kei finished he made a quick escape behind a tree and watched as the Uchiha fled for life while screaming like a girl.

Once the Uchiha left, Kei stepped out from behind the tree and presented Anko with her stolen dango. "I'm sorry for stealing your dango." Kei put on his biggest puppy dog eyes that always made Kurenai squeal.

Anko looked him over before quickly snatching the two dango sticks back. "Did he really say those things?" she asked.

"No but it was funny to hear him scream." Kei responded with a giggle.

"I guess it was. Want some dango kid?"

"Yes! Dango is the greatest food invented!"

"I like you kid. What's your name?"

"Hatake Kei."

"Kei. . . is that short for Keiran or something?"

"No my brother is just lazy."

"Yes he is. . .yes he is. . . so dango?"

"Yes!" Kei grinned as he took off with his third friend. Maybe working with Uchiha Atsushi wouldn't be so bad, now that he had Anko-san.

* * *

I wrote this chapter while listening to 'Baton Rouge' by Garth Brooks.

I got a comment that made me a little angry because of the wording. So, I put on 'Baton Rouge' had some cinnamon sticks and typed away.

This chapters question is similar, to stick with the food theme that I enjoy is "What is your comfort food?", and you can add you comfort music or song as well.

I already said mine, but sometimes Cool Ranch Doritos perk me up.

P.S Chicken fajitas won. However, apparently Beef fajitas are manly. Keep that in mind!


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

Summary: _How would the Naruto and Harry Potter worlds change if Harry was raised the traditional Hatake way._

Warnings: _implied child abuse, OC'ness, Future- Het, Slash (no one should discriminate against love), underage, fluff, smut, and lemon_

_Beta: Kyuubi no Goddess

* * *

_

**Sibling Snooping**

Kei was frustrated. He was on his way to Itachi. Atsushi-sensei, was a terrible instructor. He understood that the Uchiha clan might be a tad bit upset because Kakashi has Obito-nii's eye, but that did not mean that they should lack in their shinobi duties. Kei had been with his team for a month, and he has not learned anything from Atsushi-sensei. Plus, his teammates are more interested in touching each other, and following Atsushi-sensei actions towards him.

Kei finally decided he had enough. He told his team he would see them on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, when they normally went to the missions office, but every other day he would be gone. They readily agreed, and Kei left.

Kei had a plan. He would talk to Itachi, and ask for him to train him. He didn't want to tell Kashi-nii, because he wanted to work this out on his own. Itachi would be able to teach him, and in five months after the Chuunin exams, he could ask for a team transfer.

Kei arrived at the Uchiha complex and carefully entered. He arrived in Itachi's room without anyone noticing him, and settled down to wait for his friend. Itachi had arrived back from an ANBU mission yesterday, which meant he had a down day today. Kei just needed to wait for him to return from whatever errands he had to run, and have a serious talk about training. He might even convince Itachi to buy him lunch.

Kei grew bored after twenty minutes of waiting and sighed. He blew air out to move his shaggy bangs, and looked around. He had only been in Itachi's room twice before, and those times were a quick stop in and then out. Now that he had time, Kei decided to explore.

Itachi didn't have a lot in his room. His futon wasn't folded, and he had a few shirts laying around. One corner was dedicated to weapons, and the closet was closed. There was a small table with a few scrolls on top and a few that looked like the fell off.

Kei grabbed one of the scrolls and opened it to see a fire jutsu. He guessed it was one of the Uchiha family jutsu's. Kei contemplated closing the scroll and reading another, but since Itachi carelessly left it out, for anyone to read, Kei pushed away that voice and dove in.

The one thing he figured out besides how to perform the jutsu, was that Uchiha's are wordy. For such an anti-social clan that communicates through grunts, their scrolls are long-winded and boring. Kei finally finished the scroll, and decided to rest his eyes. He fell on top of Itachi's bed, grabbed the covers, and closed his eyes. He was sure Itachi wouldn't mind. The older boy probably did the same thing after reading a family scroll. 'Stupid Uchiha's' was the last thought in Kei's mind as he fell asleep.

o.O.o

As Kei was sleeping, a small boy with pale skin and black hair snuck into his older brother's room. The little boy, Sasuke, wanted his brother to train with him, and thought that waiting in his bedroom would be the best way to catch him. Sasuke slid open the door and froze when he saw someone in his brothers bed.

Sasuke took a few seconds to compose himself before quietly walking into the room. He observed the figure on the bed and was shocked to see a person with white hair under the covers. He couldn't tell the gender since the face and body were mostly covered, but he did know they were younger- younger than himself.

Sasuke watched the figure for a little bit more, but they didn't move or say anything. He only knew they were alive since he could see the blanket rising with their chest every time they breathed in. Sasuke decided he should leave, and quietly left the room.

When the door was closed and Sasuke was safely back in his own room, he tried to find a reason for the person. His brother must have brought them into his room, since there was no way that anyone could sneak into the Uchiha compound and the Main House. His brother could have snuck them in. Then why was the person sleeping?

Sasuke remembered his mother telling him to never enter his parent's room at night because they did adult things at night. Young children like him were not allowed to see or know what these adult things were, but a few times Sasuke was wait around the corner and hear weird noises from their room.

Sasuke thought that, that situation might apply to the person in Itachi's bed. Itachi would be allowed to do adult things since he was already in the ANBU, but that person looked younger than him. Sasuke thought on it more and decided that Itachi must have taught that person adult things, and they were tired from all that learning. Satisfied with his answer, Sasuke decided to go wake the person up and see if they were alright. After all, when he worked hard on his kunai training and got tired, his mother would make him tea and make sure he was fine.

Sasuke walked back to Itachi's room and heard talking. He saw the door slightly open and snuck up to the room to listen in.

"-then I decided that I will never like Atsushi, or my team." The mystery person said.

"Yes I have never been fond of Atsushi myself, but I thought he would at least be an honourable teacher. If we're finished here, we can head out." Itachi said.

"I wasn't finished my nap. You know it's not nice to wake someone up with a kunai to the throat."

"You were drooling on my pillow."

"The Uchiha family stuff made me sleepy and I don't drool. Do they really expect you to learn all that stuff? It's so boring. How do adults do this every day?" Sasuke perked up. He heard something hit the floor, and the sound indicated it was probably thrown. He didn't pay attention to that since he was mentally gloating. His theory was correct. Itachi was teaching the mystery person adult stuff.

"I understand. When my father taught me I often wanted to nap afterwards as well."

"So can I go back to napping?"

"No. We can't practice what you learned today here, so we will leave now to an empty training field. One of the ones near the south of the village should ensure that we won't be disturbed." Itachi said.

"Fine let's go." Sasuke listened as the mystery person opened the window.

"Don't you Hatake's ever use a door?" Itachi asked. He seemed frustrated and amused at the same time.

"Nope." Sasuke listened as the mystery person giggled and then the sound got softer, like they were moving far away.

When Sasuke heard the window close, he peeked inside the room to see it empty. He was a little sad that he mystery person stole his time with his brother, but he couldn't get mad. Itachi was teaching them adult things and it was probably important. He would just have to catch his brother next time.

o.O.o

A month and a half passed since Kei approached Itachi for training. The older boy was a strict taskmaster, but Kei learned a lot from him. They started with the Uchiha Katon Jutsu's and then moved on to improving Kei's taijutsu. Itachi thought that a combination taijutsu style would work best for the small prodigy and they experimented with a few until they found one that fit.

Itachi had even taken it a step further and altered Kei's clothing so he could hold more weapons and have easier access to them. Kei could now inconspicuously carry four tessan and the trench knives that Asuma gave him. He had the standard hip pouch and the shuriken holder was on his left leg. His tanto rested just above his hip pouch and was easy to grab. Everything Itachi modified was perfect.

Today was a boring day though. Itachi and Kakashi had been given missions, Kotetsu and Izumo were working with the Hokage, and Kurenai was on a date with Asuma, but both denied it. Guy had chosen today to do a marathon, and he just had lunch with Anko, but she needed to go back to her apprenticeship.

Kei decided to sit at the park and wait until it was time to go to Kiba's. It was a nice day out and since it was Thursday he didn't have to go to the mission office with his team. He briefly thought about going home, but since Kurenai moved in there were boxes everywhere as she took over her apartment and the Chuunins'. Kakashi had managed to keep her out of their apartment, but her boxes were slowly creeping towards the hole.

Kei was relaxing the shade of a tree when he smelled a familiar scent and sat up grinning. Kei and Kiba had become great friends since they met. When Kei was bored or needed a break from training, he often escaped to the Inuzuka compound.

Hana was ecstatic that such a wonderful influence was now hanging around her brother, and had even threatened Kiba if he corrupted Kei. Tsume had been happy to allow Kei free access to the Kennels, and the pair often spent hours playing with all the dogs. Kei couldn't wait for his ninken.

Kei jumped up into a tree to watch what would happen. When Kiba entered the park with a bunch of other children, he immediately perked up and ran towards Kei. He jumped into the tree landed on Kei squishing him.

"Hey Kei-chan. What are you up too?" Kiba asked.

"I was relaxing but now I'm going to watch what these kids are up to." Kei answered.

The pair settled in the tree and watched as the group decided to play ninja. They organized into teams, but Kei got upset when he saw they were picking on one boy and telling him he couldn't play. Kei was about to go after the boy when he ran away crying, when Kiba stopped him.

"Just wait Kei-chan. There's someone else already following him." Kiba pointed out.

Kei watched as a boy with dark spiky hair told the others he wouldn't play and followed the crying boy. Kiba and Kei decided to follow them and watch what would happen. They hid on a roof and watched as spiky hair comforted the crying boy.

"Do you think they will be best friends?" Kei asked.

"Yes, but they won't ever be a great as us together." Kiba said while grinning at the younger boy.

"True neither of them will have ninken!" Kei happily agreed. Kei and Kiba were both anxiously waiting for the day they would get their canine partners. Kiba's would be with him always, but Kei had to summon his.

"We should probably go. Hana is watching us tonight and has wanted to cook for you for awhile." Kiba said as he pulled his friend to his feet.

Kei and Kiba arrived at the Inuzuka Compound to the heavenly scent of food. Hana apparently had spent days thinking of the perfect menu for Kei. Kei visited often but was usually stolen away around meal times by one of his many guardians.

Anko, Kotetsu and Izumo mostly took lunch, while Dinner went to Kakashi. Kurenai would insert herself into whichever meal she felt like. Since everyone was busy, Hana had jumped at the chance, to finally, feed the adorable little boy.

Over the meal, Kiba kept talking about how in a few months he would be allowed to join the academy, and couldn't wait. Kei had yet to tell him he was a Genin. He enjoyed their days together too much to ruin it by telling his friend he was a shinobi.

Kei knew that shinobi were treated differently and he had seen a few instances where Kiba had changed his personality to show respect to the passing shinobi. Kei never wanted his friend to change around him, so he never wore his forehead protector when they were together.

Hana and Tsume knew, but they kept quiet at Kei's plea. Kiba was his first normal friend. Not to say Itachi wasn't normal. Well Itachi was far from normal. He wasn't like the traditional Uchiha, and he was a prodigy so he didn't know how to play normal civilian games. Kiba did. Kiba would spend his entire day playing games and having fun. He didn't need to train or write reports. He didn't need to worry about representing his clan's name yet, and Kei loved that. With Kiba he could act like a regular five year old.

Kei wasn't upset that he didn't have a normal childhood. In fact he loved being a shinobi and making Kashi-nii proud. He loved spending time with Itachi, and training. He just found that Kiba balanced his days. He could train and work until he was exhausted but still have a small amount of energy left to play with Kiba.

"Kei I promise when I enter the academy we will still have sleepovers and spend lots of time together." Kiba interrupted his thoughts.

Kei blinked and looked at his friend to see Kiba sitting in front of him with an anxious face. "I know Kiba-kun. If you forgot about me I would sneak into your window at night and dump ice cold water on you."

"I could never forget you Kei." Kiba grinned.

"Okay you two help clean up and then it's bedtime." Hana spoke up. The pair just looked at the older girl and gave her their best puppy eyes.

"Do we have too Hana-nee?" Kei asked. Kei could see the older girl melting at the sight of them. Even though Kiba caused her hell every day, the combination of them both was too much.

"No, you don't have to clean up. Just wash up and then bed." Kei grinned and followed Kiba as he ran out of the room. When they made it upstairs, they heard Hana cursing.

The pair got ready for bed and changed, and settled down. Kei had started sleeping over at Kiba's since the fourth day of their friendship. Every night they would settle into their separate futons, side by side and wake up in the same position.

Kei was what Kakashi called a 'Cuddlebug'. He liked being warm and instantly sought out the biggest heat source and cuddled it. Throughout the night, the two usually gravitated towards each other and woke up the same. Kiba would be asleep on his back and Kei would be draped across his torso. Kiba would have one arm wrapped around Kei's middle to keep him steady while Kei's head would be on Kiba's shoulder, one hand on Kiba's other shoulder, and the other resting on Kiba's forearm.

The first time Hana had found them like this, she grabbed her mother and the women snapped multiple pictures. Kakashi and everyone in the apartment got copies while the boys blushed.

Kei didn't mind the position. Most morning he would find himself lying across Kakashi's stomach and a few times when Kotetsu slept nearby he would be curled up in a ball on the Chuunin's back. Kiba didn't care since he figured all friends slept like that.

When the two boys finally fell asleep, Hana slipped into the room to watch them. She enjoyed this time and stayed quiet as she watched the progress. Kiba would roll onto his side and reach out and grab Kei. He would bring Kei against his body, and Kei would roll them so Kiba was on his back and Kei on top. This always happened within ten minutes of the duo falling asleep.

Once they were in their favourite position, Hana walked forward to sniff Kiba. Every night they would check to see if he was almost prepared to choose his partner. Hana bent down, sniffed Kiba, and sighed. He still had a few more months to go. Tsume wanted him to choose his partner soon so they could start training him in the family jutsu's.

Hana sniffed Kei next and was surprised what she smelled. The Hatake's had the same method of deciding when they were ready for their ninken. Kei always had a scent of puppies, but it seemed like two puppy scents were now coming from the small boy. Hana decided to file away that information and talk to her mother and Kakashi later.

* * *

Chocolate was a clear winner last chapter.

I finished my NaNoWriMo novel! Yay just need to validate it. Then I can update this story within 2 days or so not the 5ish this round.

So I live in Canada and the winters are a tad bit nippy. Just a little.

As I was watching Naruto after a long cold walk, I thought "Hey self, wouldn't it be awesome to live in fire country? They never have winter there."

Has anyone else asked themselves this question before or close to it?

Shout out to Kyuubi No Goddess! She was very prompt on beta'ing this chapter.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

Summary: _How would the Naruto and Harry Potter worlds change if Harry was raised the traditional Hatake way._

Warnings: _implied child abuse, OC'ness, Future- Het, Slash (no one should discriminate against love), underage, fluff, smut, and lemon_

_Beta: Kyuubi no Goddess_

**Attitude Agitation**

Kei was excited. After a series of D-rank and a few C-rank missions, his team had gathered enough experience to participate in the Chuunin exams. Currently they were being held in Kumogakure. Kei had never been out of fire country and the prospect to advance and leave his team, as well as see another country, had kept him awake the night before.

Kakashi had tried to get him settled down, and rested, but Kei refused to sleep. He unpacked and re-packed his bag so many times, he could unconsciously pack it. He wanted to leave as soon as the sun broke through the night, but he had to wait for the rest of his team and the other Genin cells leaving. The Hokage thought it would be best if all the participants travelled together.

The scenery wasn't all that interesting. They would travel Northeast through fire country and into Vegetable country. They would continue their Northeastern direction through Wood country and finally arrive in the Country of Lightning.

As he passed tree after tree, Kei's mind wandered as he thought about the past few months. He had continued his training with Itachi and sometimes they would feel a shadow following them. When Kei asked, he was told that Itachi's younger brother had taken to following him around. When Sasuke was asked why he merely responded with 'To see aniki's adult partner'. The entire thing confused Kei, so he ignored it.

Itachi had moved from the Katon Jutsu's to teaching Kei some wind and lightning attacks. The worked on taijutsu and genjutsu, but Kei found he didn't have the aptitude for genjutsu. He could throw it off but he was slightly below average at using it. From genjutsu, Itachi helped him build his attacking style. A combination of wind and lightning jutsu with his tessen and senbon had him working as a mid to long range fighter.

They both agreed when he was older and his body grew then they would work on making him a better close range fighter. Kei could admit he was small and barely reached the stomach of most shinobi. He wasn't intimidating so they would stick with mid-long range attacking to compensate for his lack of height and build.

Kei enjoyed his time with Itachi, but his favourite time of the day was when he arrived at the Inuzuka compound. Every time he arrived lately he would seek out Hana-nee or Tsume-okaa, and they would tell him the progress of his first ninken summon. Tsume-okaa had predicted that his first summons would be ready by the time he returned from the first part of the Chuunin exams, and Kei had grabbed Kiba to go play in the kennels to celebrate.

Kei snapped back to his surroundings when he heard a Jounin call for a halt. He stayed low and partially hidden as he observed his surroundings. The Jounin who stopped them explained that they had a group of four approaching from the west. Kei turned his head and focussed on listening to the approach.

From the sounds, they were not Konoha shinobi. The stepped too heavily on the branches, and their feet slid slightly as the jumped. When they got closer, Kei lowered his mask slightly to free his nose and took in the scents.

He could smell and identify everyone in the group. He could instantly filter out Akemi's flowery scent and Rikoto's paper and ink. He smelled the unique scent on Konoha on everyone in their party and filtered them out. He got rid of the common smells in the forest, to finally narrow it down to the approaching four.

"Iwa nin." Kei said loud enough for the accompanying Jounin to hear.

Every country had a unique scent that acted like an under-scent to their shinobi and civilians. Kakashi and Itachi had teamed up to find people from various countries to get Kei able to quickly identify the under-scent and instantly know which country the hailed from.

"Are you sure Hatake-kun?" The Hyuuga Jounin asked. He was the one that originally called the halt.

"Positive. They also smell like fresh blood."

"Hyuuga-san, how long until they arrive?" a female Jounin asked.

"A minute."

"Everyone be on guard, but don't attack until they move first." Atsushi added.

The group stayed quiet and alert while the four Iwa nin approached. When they broke through the foliage they stopped in front of the group smirking.

"Well well whada we got 'ere?" The leader of the group asked.

"Looks like four Leaf Jounin and nine of their brats." A second Iwa nin spoke. This one had spikey black hair and long sideburns. The leader had short brown hair and big muscles.

Kei looked them over and guessed that it was one Jounin and three Chuunin in the group. Their group could handle it, if they attacked.

"What are you doing in this part of Fire Country?" Atsushi asked.

"We were jus' clearin the path for our Genin." The leader spoke.

"And the blood?" The Hyuuga asked.

"A group of temp'rmantal grass nin. They refused to let us pass." The leader grinned as he remembered what was obviously a very bloody battle.

"Hatake-kun, can that wonder nose of yours identify how many people they killed?" The Hyuuga asked as Kei felt him settle down closer to him. Kei closed his eyes and completely focussed on the blood. His nose was good but not perfect.

"I can't tell for sure, but somewhere between 4-8. The blood is mingling too much and I'm not that experienced." Kei apologized. His brother could accurately tell, but Kei wasn't that good yet.

"That's fine Hatake-kun."

"Are ya goin to let us pass, or we goin to fight?"

"We have no quarrel with you." The Hyuuga spoke up.

"I don't know Horoshi-sama. I think one of their Genin gave me a bad look." A female Chuunin spoke up from the back.

"Well we can't have that now can we?" The leader 'Horoshi' said before he jumped towards Atsushi.

Kei quickly stood and went to the Hyuuga's side when the second Iwa nin jumped towards them. Kei grabbed his senbon and formed a bird seal as he forced a small lightning jutsu into the senbon. The senbon would give the enemy a slight shock, which should be enough to make them falter or stop altogether if hit.

Kei threw two waves of senbon at the approaching Iwa nin and bent down slightly to draw two tessen out. Kei watched as the Iwa nin avoided the first wave, but was caught off guard by the second wave. He faltered and stumbled on the ground.

This gave the Hyuuga time the throw several kunai at the enemy. Kei smelled the approaching enemy from behind at the same time that the Hyuuga registered them in his Byakugan. Kei turned and opened the tessen. He saw the female Chuunin running towards them. Behind her were several injured Genin.

"Hyuuga-san, You deal with the original Chuunin, and I will fight this one." Kei said.

"Hatake-kun. . ."

"No Hyuuga-san. You deal with your opponent." Kei jumped towards the female Iwa nin and shot a series of small wind attacks at her. The Iwa nin skilfully avoided them, but it gave Kei a chance to search and spot Rikoto nearby and relatively unharmed. He threw a handful of shuriken at her, before jumping to the side and landing close to Rikoto.

"Rikoto-san, do you have any wire on you?"

"Yes."

"Hand it here. If I manage to tie her to a tree, can you jump in quickly and finish it? I want her finished before someone comes to help her." Kei said. Kei felt wire being pressed into his hand and he quickly jumped back into a fight with the female Iwa nin. He put away one tessen and hid the wire in his hip pouch.

Kei jumped over her head, and landed behind her, He threw a few more senbon at the back of her knees, before jumping away again. He continued this pattern of jumping and senbon until he ran out and the female Iwa nin had several senbon sticking out of her.

Kei took out the wire and tied two tessen to the ends. He threw the tessen to both sides of the female and trapped her against a tree. Kei managed to see her look of shock before Rikoto jumped in the way and used his fists to finish her off.

Kei looked around and saw Atsushi-sensei bleeding but standing over the body of the Iwa Jounin with the female Jounin beside him. The Hyuuga was deactivating his byakugan, and the last Iwa nin was in the middle of a Genin circle.

"Rikoto! Are you okay?" Kei winced at Akemi's voice.

"I'm fine. I even managed to kill her." Rikoto responded.

"Oh Rikoto you're se brave and skilled managing to take down a Chuunin be yourself."

"She's right Rikoto-kun. You did an excellent job today, you should be proud of yourself."

"Oh. . . thank. . .haha" Rikoto laughed and wrapped an arm around Akemi.

Kei couldn't believe them. He did most of the fighting. Did they fail to see the senbon and tessen? Rikoto didn't use those.

"Just ignore them. I know it was you, and you did a very fine job." Kei looked up to see the Hyuuga beside him.

"Thank you."

"No problem."

"You're from the branch family aren't you?" Kei asked.

"Why do you ask that?"

"Because you don't smell as bad as the main family." Kei answered.

"The main family smells bad?" The Hyuuga seemed amused at the statement.

"All clans have a unique scent just like the under-scent of every country. The Uchiha's smell like arrogance. The more arrogant they are the more it burns my nose. The Hyuuga's smell like superiority. I don't know what it actually is but that's what I call the Hyuuga under-scent. The main family always smells the worst and makes my nose tickle." Kei explained.

"Do all clans smell bad?" The Hyuuga seemed genuinely curious.

"No the Inuzuka's smell wonderful and the Akimichi's always smell nice."

"Are you sure it's the Inuzuka's or the kibble they serve the puppies that you like?" Kei watched as the Hyuuga looked pleased with himself.

"You're a weird Hyuuga."

"And you're a weird Genin." Kei was interrupted before he could respond.

"Hatake-chibi, let's go already. You're holding up the group." Atsushi yelled.

"Lets retrieve you're tessen and then join the group." The Hyuuga offered.

Kei simply nodded as he walked forward. He liked his tessen. They were gifts from Itachi. Plus while he retrieved them he could think of a way to get Anko to beat up Atsushi-sensei again.

o.O.o

The group arrived at Kumogakure and settled in their hotel and went to sleep. The next morning they woke up and got ready for the exam. They all separated and went to the designated Konoha training fields to train until the exams started.

Three days later was the first test and all the teams assembled at the bottom on one of highest mountain.

"This test is simple. You are to climb the mountain and retrieve a scroll that's hidden in the house on top. Get a scroll and get back down here. You have three days to do this. Any questions?" No one said anything. "Oh one more thing, your team will be tied together. You can't cut, break or remove the rope at all." The Lightning Jounin had a sadist grin on his face, which comforted no one.

Each team member was tied together and placed at various points around the mountain. When the flair went up, the teams quickly ascended the mountain. Kei's team wasn't doing that bad. Rikoto had decided that Kei was too small and would slow them down so Kei had been thrown over the bigger boys shoulder. They climbed the mountain swiftly and ran into no trouble.

Half way up the mountain night fell and it got cold. The team searched until they found a small cave. Kei went in first to scout the cave before declaring it safe. Rikoto and Akemi climbed in and they set up their sleeping bags and trapped the entrance.

They didn't bother with a guard schedule since the traps would wake them, and they didn't have a fire to lead anyone else to the cave. They had a quiet night and woke up at dawn to continue.

Rikoto decided that Kei could climb on his own and the trip started up the mountain again. They ran into their first problem when Kei smelled an ambush ahead. He tried to warn the other two but they wouldn't listen to him. When the team of mist Genin jumped out and attacked, the trio fought hard and were winning until the mist nin got backup from a team of rain nin.

The Rain nin helped fight and eventually Kei and his team were taken down. Their rope was cut and Kei called a retreat to the bottom of the mountain before the two teams decided the rope wasn't enough and wanted them dead. As they were fleeing, Kei looked back to the see the two teams fighting each other, and the Rain nin seemed to be winning.

When they got to the bottom they discovered they were the fifth team to be disqualified. Once the proctor finished speaking Akemi rounded on Kei as Atsushi-sensei showed up.

"This is all your fault you little brat." She screamed. Kei got fed up.

"No this is your fault. I tried telling you about the ambush but neither of you wanted to listen to me. If you actually treated me like a teammate then we could have avoided them and still be in this." Kei fiercely told the girl.

"Hatake-chibi, you shouldn't have dragged the team down as you did. You jeopardized Rikoto and Akemi's chances of promotion." Atsushi said, as if explaining something to a dumb child.

"I didn't drag them down. You get to tell Anko-san that I failed." Kei said before storming off. He couldn't wait to return to Konoha and file for a new team.

The trip home was made in silence. Since the other two Genin teams made it past the first part, Kei's team got to return to Konoha alone. Kei refused to acknowledge Akemi or Atsushi. He briefly spoke short sentences to Rikoto, but that was it.

When Kei saw the gates of Konoha, he sped up and immediately went to find his nii-san. He found Kakashi in their bedroom reading, but his brother put the book away as soon as he sensed Kei.

"Otouto, how did the exam go?"

"Terrible! I'm going to the Hokage and demanding a new team." Kei said as he dropped his bag.

"Hmm, well let's go then. I never approved of you being around Uchiha's anyways- except for Itachi, of course." Kakashi stood and jumped out the window to lead his brother to the Hokage tower.

When they arrived in the the Hokage's office, Atsushi-sensei, Akemi and Rikoto were already there.

"There he is Hokage-sama. The boy is a menace." Atsushi said.

"Ah Kei-chan. We were just discussing the events of the Chuunin exam. Why don't you give me your account of the events?" The Hokage calmly asked.

"I will." Kei glared at Atsushi. Kei told the Hokage every detail including the fight with the Iwa nin's and how it was him that fought the female that Rikoto killed. He went into even greater detail of how he tried to warn the other two of the ambush and how they blatantly ignored him because of Akemi's wandering hands.

When he finished Kakashi was trying very hard not to attack the Uchiha and the female Genin. He didn't know about their treatment of Kei, but their actions at the Chuunin exams were more than enough to make Kakashi hurt them.

"Well I think I will need a few days to think this over. We can all meet again later." The Hokage said. Kei and Kakashi didn't bother waiting around as the leapt out the window.

"You know otouto. . . Anko has the day off." Kakashi said.

"Did her new shipment of fire ants come in?"

"I think that's the reason she took today off. To welcome them to her collection."

"Nii-san, did you that Atsushi-sensei has always wanted to meet her fire ants, up close and personal?"

"Really, well he shouldn't disappoint him." Kakashi smiled as the pair changed courses to find Anko.

* * *

I learned a lot last chapter.

For example that Sydney is not the capital of Australia, Aussie wish they had snow, and this story is a choking hazard.

I also learned I have some awesome australian readers that make me laugh.

Question Time: All this ninken talks make me want a dog like Pakkun. Anyone else want a talking animal? One that possibly uses the same shampoo. . .


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

Summary: _How would the Naruto and Harry Potter worlds change if Harry was raised the traditional Hatake way._

Warnings: _implied child abuse, OC'ness, Future- Het, Slash (no one should discriminate against love), underage, fluff, smut, and lemon_

_Beta: Kyuubi no Goddess_

**Summons Salute**

Kei arrived at the Hokage's office a few days later to hear some very unexpected news.

"I'm sorry but there is simply no where we can place Kei. No other teams have an opening, and he can't be chosen as an apprentice until he has been a shinobi for at least a year. The entire team will have to deal with this situation until a team opens up, Kei is offered an apprenticeship, or the next Chuunin exams." The Hokage said with a very solemn expression.

"Hokage-sama..." Kei couldn't believe what he heard.

"I'm sorry Kei-chan."

"Fine we will just continue like normal and hope that somewhere opens up." Kei said before leaping out the window. Kei decided he needed dango to cheer himself up. One little pick me up and then he can move on from this and ignore his team like usual until they had missions.

Kei settled into his favourite cafe and that's where Rikoto found him.

"Kei-kun, I want to apologize."

"What?" Kei looked up and stared at the boy.

"I know I have not been the best teammate. I never tried to belittle you, but I also never protested when I was given praise for your actions. I can't change Akemi-chan's or Atsushi-sensei's opinion about you, but I do hope that in the future you will get a better team, where you will be welcomed." Rikoto said.

"Thank you." Kei felt his eyes tear a little bit, but pushed that away. He was a shinobi and they didn't cry! Even if one of their teammates apologized and finally did something decent towards him. "How did you know I was here?" Kei asked to change the topic slightly and distract the older boy from noticing his slightly watery eyes.

"You always come here. I may have been a terrible teammate towards you, but I studied your patterns and hobbies. This is your favourite cafe, and when you train you like the southern training fields. You're best friends are Inuzuka Kiba and Uchiha Itachi. Your older brother is always late, but you are only late for Atsushi-sensei or when you're with Kakashi-sama. You run away from Kurenai-san whenever she has something pink, purple or frilly in her hands. You have monthly dango eating contests against Anko-san, and you favour miso ramen."

"You actually studied me?"

"Yes you were my teammate and I needed to know what you were like, in order to work better with you." Rikoto calmly responded.

"Thank you." Kei looked away and focussed on the ground. There had to be dust in his eyes or something. He did not turn into a crybaby because his teammate actually acknowledged that he was part of Team 2.

"Oh I also told the cafe owner that I'm covering your bill today, so order as much dango as you like." Rikoto added.

Kei couldn't stop the look of pure admiration he gave the older boy. Maybe Rikoto could be exempt from the revenge pranks he had planned.

o.O.o

Kei's team situation remained the same. The only up side was the Rikoto seemed to distract Akemi before she said something insulting to Kei. He also stole Atsushi's attention when the Jounin looked ready to yell at Kei. Kei guessed that he figured out where the fire ants in his bed and underwear drawer came from.

Two weeks after the Chuunin exams, Kei spent the night at Kiba's. They spent the day playing, and bugging Hana-nee since she had a mysterious smile on her face. She refused to tell them why, and ignored them.

That night when they went to sleep, Hana and Tsume got things ready. Kei was in for a surprise come morning. Kei slowly came back to the world of consciousness and felt something strange. He was very familiar with waking up with Kiba, and knew something was wrong when instead of the warmth underneath him and the single arm around him, he felt warmth everywhere.

Kei cracked one eye open and immediately sat up at the sight. On either side of him were two pure white Shiba Inu's. Kei gaped at the pair as they continued to sleep on top of Kiba. The older boy was still sound asleep but his arm moved as if it were searching for something.

"Kiba! Kiba! Wake up!" Kei yelled.

Kei's calls were enough to wake Kiba and the puppies. Kiba slowly opened his eyes and stared at his friend until he saw a white blur tackle his friend to the floor. Kiba sat up and stared at the sight of Kei rolling on the ground with two white puppies.

"I knew they would arrive last night." Kiba looked towards the door and saw Hana leaning on the frame and smiling at the sight.

"What do you mean?" Kiba asked.

"Okaa-san and I could smell that Kei's first ninken would arrive. We don't know what Hatake's do after their ninken arrive, so we just prepared some room in the kennel for them until Kakashi-san gets here tomorrow." Hana explained.

"You knew there would be more than one?" Kei asked as he lay on his back with the puppies across his stomach.

"Yes we knew. We thought it would be a nice surprise."

Kei and Kiba spent the rest of the day playing with the puppies. Kei had even sent a message to his team telling them he was taking the day off for family reasons. When lunch arrived, Hana placed the plates of food on the table and sat down to play their usual mealtime game 'Can You Spot Kei Eating'.

Hana once asked why Kakashi and Kei never let anyone see them eat, and all she received was a weird look and "Rule 5: Never let anyone see you eating. It adds an air of mystery and distracts them so you can steal their food."

When she looked down at her plate, her gyoza was missing and Kei was chewing something. "You know you must not be a very good Chuunin Hana-nee if I can steal you food all the time." Kei said after he swallowed his stolen food. After that, Hana was extra cautious of her food, but still tried to see Kei's face. She tried to reprimand him but the conversation was somehow turned against her.

"_Kei-chan, it's not nice to steal." Hana scolded._

"_But that's half a shinobi's job, stealing things." Kei said while staring at the girl with an innocent look._

"_Yes but that's from other villages. It's not right to steal from people from your own village." Hana tried._

"_But you have all those pictures of Itachi-nii that you stole from his fan-girls. So are you being bad?" Kei asked._

"_That's completely different!" Hana growled and tried to will away her blush._

"_Are they different because you can't eat the pictures? You've tried eating them right, because the one night I saw you in the living room and your mouth was all over Itachi-nii picture." Kei told the girl._

_Hana wanted to throttle the brat, but was reminded that he was still innocent and didn't know what he was saying. That thought of a pure innocent little Kei, calmed her down and when she returned her attention to the boy she saw her mother standing behind him smirking._

_Afterwards, Hana tried making Kei promise to never tell anyone else about their conversation but all she received as was guilty look._

"_What's wrong Kei-chan?"_

"_I already told Itachi-nii because I was curious about what you were doing, and I thought he is the same age so I figured he would know best." Kei told the girl._

_Hana had been so embarrassed that she started avoiding the young ANBU at all costs. She couldn't blame Kei since he didn't know what was going on. She only blamed herself for not noticing him walking into the living room that night._

"So Kei-chan, have you chosen names for your ninken, or did they tell you their names?" Hana asked when we returned from her thoughts.

"Ranmaru." Was the simple response.

"You only have one named?"

"No, they're called Ranmaru." Kei spoke slowly while giving the girl a weird look.

"They're sharing a name? What happens if you only want to summon one? If there's only one name they both will show up." Hana explained.

"Why would I separate them? Besides, they told me that is their name. They're one mind and soul- just in two forms."

When night fell, Ranmaru escaped from the kennel and went to Kiba's room. Kei and Kiba were almost asleep when they entered and Kei laughed and beckoned them over. While the three were settling down, Kiba seriously wished that Kei's future summons didn't insist on using him as a body pillow as well.

When Kakashi arrived, he already had everything ready. Tsume-okaa let them use a spare room to do their ritual. Kakashi laid out a scroll and some ink. Kakashi carefully explained every step of the process to make his summoning scroll and described how to add his ninken to the scroll. He had Kei repeat the process back to him several times until Kei could remember everything without messing up once.

Once that was done, they brought Ranmaru into the room and started the ritual. Kei cut his finger and drew a seal around the puppies. He picked up the scroll, drew a matching seal and wrote 'Ranmaru' inside.

He placed the scroll on the ground and focussed chakra into his hand, and slammed it down on the scroll. He pushed chakra through the scroll while completely focussing on his twin puppies. With a puff of smoke, the puppies where gone and the blood on the scroll had been turned black. Kei was tired from the ritual but still swiped blood across the seal and summoned the puppies.

When two happy and energetic pups showed up, Kei sighed in relief and hugged his ninken. Once he thoroughly examined them and determined nothing went wrong he whispered goodbye and sent them back. Kakashi had picked him up and his scroll and brought him to Kiba's room where his best friend was waiting.

Kei was happy to finally have his first ninken, but also glad they were sealed away. His ninken relied on his chakra to keep them around and having then around day and night yesterday took a toll on his chakra stores. It was barely lunchtime and Kei was ready to sleep another 8 hours.

o.O.o

Kei loved training with Ranmaru. Especially since Itachi had been distant lately. The older boy was spending less and less time with him, or leaves early because of his family. Kei was upset but understood that as the clan heir; Itachi had duties and couldn't spend all his time with Kei.

Kei started training Ranmaru in speed. The three of them would race, and Kei even added weights to their paws, while he wore his around his ankles. Together they steadily gained speed, and still had fun.

One night Kei was returning from tracking training when an ANBU dropped in front of him. Kei winced at the sight. He had been training hard all day and fell asleep with Ranmaru. When he woke up it was pretty late, and Kei hoped that Kakashi hadn't gotten worried about his absence and called the ANBU to find him again.

"The Hokage wants to see you immediately." The Bear ANBU said.

"One my way." Kei responded as he leapt in a different direction to run to the Hokage's office. When Kei arrived, it was to the sight of a grave looking Hokage.

"Hokage-sama you called for me?" Kei asked as he sat on the windowsill.

"Kei-kun. Please come in and close the window. I need to put up a secrecy barrier."

Kei jumped from the window and settled down on the corner of the Hokage's desk. If this was a serious matter than the Hokage wouldn't begrudge him for getting comfortable. Once the barrier was up, the Hokage spoke.

"You can come out now Itachi."

Kei looked up to see his friend emerge from the shadows. He had smelled his friend but the scent was faint, so Kei figured he and recently been in the room but left. The sight that greeted Kei shocked him.

"Itachi-nii why are you covered in blood? You had today off."

"Kei I need to know if I can trust you." Itachi said.

"Of course you can!" Kei sounded offended at the mere suggestion he would betray Itachi.

"I killed my clan tonight." Itachi said without even beating around the bush.

"What?" Kei stared wide-eyed at his friend.

"They were planning to assassinate the Hokage, and take control of the village. I told the Hokage and somehow the council found out. I was ordered to kill everyone." Itachi handed over a scroll.

Kei opened the mission scroll to read the details of the mission Itachi had been given. When he got to the bottom he noticed something off.

"Where's the Hokage signature?"

"It's not there. When I received the scroll, I read it quickly and left. I didn't bother looking further into it since Danzo-san gave it to me. After I killed everyone I came here to report to the Hokage, but he had no recollection of signing the scroll. When I showed him, we found the genjutsu over his signature and it showed Danzo's. We figure he signed it with everyone else on the civilian council, but afterwards tried to hide his name." Itachi explained without emotion.

Kei stared at his friend before jumping off the desk and hugging the older boy. "That must have been terrible for you. You killed everyone?" Kei asked as he continued to hug his friend.

"I spared Sasuke. The Hokage has promised to protect him." Itachi said. Kei could hear the pain in his voice as Itachi wrapped his arms around Kei and held on tightly.

"I don't hate you. I respect you more for being able to do that, but still defy the order a little and spare Sasuke. I know how much you care for him." Kei whispered into Itachi's ear.

"Kei there's another reason we called you here."The Hokage spoke.

Kei kept his arms wrapped around his friend as Itachi transferred him to his back. Kei settled on his friends back and gave attention to the village leader.

"Itachi has to leave the village" Kei tightened his hold "but he will still be loyal to Konoha. There is a group called the Akatsuki. Itachi has agreed to join them and keep the village updated on their activities. He requested a go between. Someone who would know the situation, and would act as a messenger. Itachi trusts you the most out of all the shinobi in the village. I am asking if you would be willing to be the messenger between the Hokage and Itachi?"

"You can take some time to think about it Kei-chan." Itachi added.

"I don't need time. I will do it. How will I know when Itachi will need me though?" Kei asked. The Hokage could see the determined glint in the young shinobi's eye and didn't even try to question his choice.

"We will set up a code. Whenever a farmer by the name Ota, Kai requests helps with his rice crop in River Country, that will be when Itachi needs to see you. Other than that, we're going to have you two meet yearly on Nov. 5th." The Hokage produced a map of River Country and Itachi walked them over to the desk to see.

"There is a clearing two miles south of this mountain, it's in this area." The Hokage pointed to a spot on the map. "Every year you two will meet there. Itachi when you leave tonight your first mission will be to find this clearing and leave a mark or symbol, so that when Kei goes, he will know he's in the right area."

"Understood Hokage-sama."

"I'm sorry Itachi for the events that have led to this. This is a sad day in my life when one of my best has to leave the village and be falsely declared a traitor."

"I never thought I would be a missing-nin but at least you and Kei-chan will know the truth and not hate me." Itachi said with a sad tone.

"Itachi-nii when we meet again after you leave I'll have a special treat for you. I'll even watch out for Sasuke and bring you pictures and updates of him. You can even meet my ninken every time I get a new one." Kei said.

"Thank you Kei-chan. I fear I must leave soon. They'll find Sasuke soon."

"Hokage-sama, can I at least go to the gate with Itachi-nii? I'll hide when he leaves so no one sees me." Kei pleaded.

"I believe I can grant you both this one request. Kei-kun, report to me tomorrow to discuss this further, but remember this is an S-class secret. No one must know, not even Kakashi. You are not to tell anyone of this conversation."

"Understood Hokage-sama."

"Very well. Good Luck Itachi." The Hokage stood and placed a comforting hand on Itachi's shoulder.

"Thank you for allowing Kei to be the messenger. I trust no one else, and even though he's a Genin, I know he will do the best job possible."

"I know." The Hokage took down the barrier, and then Itachi fled through the window with Kei still on his back. "Good luck both of you." The Hokage whispered.

Sarutobi watched them until their forms disappeared into the night. As he sat down, an ANBU entered and frantically reported that they found the entire Uchiha clan murdered except young Sasuke.

Sarutobi acted shocked and ordered all ANBU to be called in.

o.O.o

Kei watched as Itachi fled the village and felt the tears streaming down his face. He waited for a few minutes and when he saw the ANBU running across the roofs, he fled. He knew Kakashi would be called so he went to the Inuzuka compound. He climbed into the Kiba's room and collapsed on his friend crying.

Kiba woke up and tried to comfort his friend as he cried himself to sleep. Kiba didn't know what to do but held Kei until he fell back asleep as well. He would find out what was wrong in the morning.

* * *

There's SNOW!

I know one chapter I said I dislike the cold, and that true. I dislike the cold when there's no snow. Snow just makes everything better.

I spent the day frolicking in the snow in my backyard while my partner sat inside laughing at me. He's a jerk.

I might be sick now. But it was fun.

Anyone else have a terrible immune system? Or even an immune system that's like steel doors, a vault, and has hell hounds guarding it?

Cause if you do. . . I'm jealous.

Also wouldn't having an invisibilty cloak be awesome? I could be the world's Hide-n-Seek Champion.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

Summary: _How would the Naruto and Harry Potter worlds change if Harry was raised the traditional Hatake way._

Warnings: _implied child abuse, OC'ness, Future- Het, Slash (no one should discriminate against love), underage, fluff, smut, and lemon_

_Beta: Kyuubi no Goddess_

**Uchiha Under-wraps**

Kei woke up to the sound of Kiba's voice.

"What are you doing here?" Kiba asked. His voice was soft but held a large amount of confusion.

"We are to retrieve Hatake-kun." Kei heard a new voice say. Kei was still drowsy and tried to bury himself further into Kiba. He felt his mask slipping down as he nuzzled the older boy's neck, but Kiba's hand came up and adjusted the fabric.

"He's sleeping. Can't this wait?" Kiba quietly asked.

"No." The second voice spoke.

"Well you can't take him until you tell my mother. She will be mad if you take Kei away without telling her." Kiba defiantly told the voice.

"It's alright Kiba, you should wake Kei-chan." Tsume's voice sounded from the doorway.

Kei opened his eyes a little and turned his head towards the woman. "Kaa-san, I'm still sleepy." Kei told the woman. Kei turned his head back and clung tighter to Kiba. He just wanted to forget and bask in Kiba's warmth for a little bit longer.

"Hatake-kun, you need to come with us to see the Hokage." The voice spoke.

At the mention of the Hokage, Kei's eyes snapped open and he turned to see two ANBU in Kiba's room. "Is it something important? Is Nii-san okay?" Kei asked desperately.

"We can tell you nothing further. You must come with us now, or we will use force." The bird ANBU said.

"Understood." Kei reluctantly disentangled himself from Kiba, and stood. He quickly gathered his forehead protector and weapons. Before he could put his weapons in place, the bird ANBU stepped forward and took them away.

"What?" Kei asked as he shot the ANBU a bemused expression.

"You won't need those. We must leave now." The ANBU said before grabbing Kei's arm and body flickered them out of the Inuzuka compound.

Kei let out a small gasp when he saw where the ANBU had taken him. Kei was standing in the middle of the Torture and Interrogation Department. He quickly looked at the ANBU still holding his arm, but before he could say anything Morino, Ibiki stepped into the room.

"Take him to room 3." The gruff man said.

Kei was quickly led into a plain room with a single table, two chairs, and an observation window. The ANBU sat him in one chair before tying his hands and legs to the chair with chakra wire.

"W-what is going on here?" Kei stuttered as he asked.

The ANBU said nothing to him as he left the room. Kei sat alone in the room for five minutes before Ibiki came in.

"What is your name?" He barked out.

"H-hatake, Kei."

"Who are you loyal too?" was barked out immediately.

"Konoha and the Hokage." Kei quickly answered.

"Who else?"

"Nii-san, my other guardians, Kiba and Tsume-okaa, Itachi-nii, and Fujioka-san." Kei had an idea what this was about but refused to show it. Also, he promised to never tell anyone, and he wouldn't betray the Hokage and Itachi.

"What is your relationship with Uchiha, Itachi?" Ibiki asked while standing over Kei.

"He's my good friend. He also trains me since my sensei doesn't like me. He taught me fire jutsu's and takes me out for dango." Kei answered while subconsciously sending off an air of innocence and confusion.

"How you ever met anyone else in the Uchiha clan?"

"Atsushi-san is my team Jounin, and I met Shisui. He was rather mean to me, but Itachi stopped him." Kei answered. He had to remind himself to speak as if everyone was still alive.

"What is your opinion of the Uchiha clan?"

"They're rude, but they help Konoha a lot with the Police centre. Nii-san says that even rude people can help the village and we shouldn't ignore them just because of their attitudes are poor." Kei answered. "Excuse me Morino-sama, but why was I brought here?"

Ibiki studied the boy for a few minutes before coming to a conclusion and sitting down in the other chair. "Uchiha, Itachi has been declared a traitor and labelled a missing-nin. He slaughtered his clan and mentally tortured his younger brother but left him alive. When Uchiha, Sasuke woke, the first thing he told us was that Itachi did everything."

Kei had a look of pure horror on his face. He already knew about the clan but the news about Sasuke was what truly upset him.

"I-itachi?" Kei hesitantly asked in a high pitched voice.

"We compiled a list of people that Uchiha, Itachi had regular contact with and their relationship. You were on the top of that list after Uchiha, Shisui."

"I d-don't know anything. Itachi was acting strange the last few months. He was skipping out on our practices. I thought it was because he didn't like training with my ninken, but then Shisui kept turning up whenever Itachi did come. I just brushed it off as clan business. Is Sasuke going to be okay?" Kei asked.

"Uchiha, Sasuke will be fine." Ibiki took off the chakra wires and sat back down. He asked a few more questions about Itachi and his behaviour before letting Kei go. He also told Kei that since Atsushi had been killed, that his team was put on vacation until they found a replacement instructor.

Kei arrived back at the Inuzuka compound and felt anxious. He knew Kiba would be waiting for him and probably had many questions. When Kei entered his friend room, Kiba pounced on him.

"Kei-chan what happened?" Kiba asked earnestly.

I-I . . . Kiba I'm so sorry!" Kei whispered as he wrapped his arms tightly around Kiba's waist. "I should have told you earlier but I didn't want you to treat me differently. I know how much you want to be a shinobi and I thought you would be mad at me for already being a Genin." Kei told the other boy.

"Kei-chan, I don't care that you're a Genin. I kinda already figured it out. I just want to know why you came here crying last night and why you were taken by the ANBU." Kiba responded as he hugged his friend back.

"You really don't care that I'm a Genin?" Kei asked with hopeful eyes.

"No. Now tell me everything! Then I can brag to Hana-nee about knowing more than her!" Kiba said as he dragged Kei back over to the futon.

Kei laughed at his friend. "Well it's actually really sad." Kei said. He told Kiba about how one Uchiha went mad and killed the entire clan. Due to that, Kei no longer had an instructor and his team was put on 'vacation'. Kiba seemed upset at the news of a Konoha clan being wiped out, but Tsume entered the room and called them down for food.

When they entered the kitchen, they saw a morose Hana sitting at the table staring a box.

"Hana! I told you to get rid of those filthy pictures already!" Tsume snapped at her daughter. Hana looked up and gave her mother a blank stare before looking back at the box. Kei stepped forward and looked inside to see that the box was full of Hana's stolen pictures of Itachi.

"I'll get rid of them." Kei offered as he took the box. His voice caught in the middle of the sentence, but he ignored it and covered the box to hide the candid shots of Itachi.

"Kei-chan. . . due to recent events I don't think it would be appropriate for you to hold such things. It may raise unwanted questions." Tsume told the young boy. Kei could hear that her voice was strained as she tried to keep up the caring facade.

"No I need to do this." Kei said before he ran from the room. He heard Tsume yelling after him, but he ignored her as he ran home. When he got to his room, he took out the better pictures of Itachi from the collection and hid them in his and Kakashi's secret spot. Next, he grabbed some items he needed and fled the room. He sensed two ANBU trailing him, but he ignored them.

Kei arrived at the clearing that he always met Itachi and set the box in the middle. He felt the ANBU settle in the branches. Kei started crying as he let his grief out. "Itachi how could you." Kei screamed as he punched the box.

To the ANBU he was crying over the betrayal of his friend, but Kei was really crying for the pain Itachi must be in. Kei punched the box a few more times, picturing Danzo's face, before pulling out the items he gathered. They were small gift Itachi had once given him. The real ones were hidden, but Kei used a henge on paper to trick the ANBU.

Kei piled the items on top of the crushed box and used a small fire jutsu that Itachi taught him on the pile. When the collection was nothing but ash, Kei continued to sit there and stare at it. Kei was broken from his stupor when one of the ANBU landed beside him and touched his shoulder. Kei looked up at the bird ANBU and whispered a quiet 'yo' before turning his gaze back to the ashes.

"A shinobi will go through many hardships. One of them will be the loss of a friend whether through betrayal or death. A shinobi should mourn for a little bit before moving on stronger." The ANBU removed his hand and left the small boy.

Kei thought over the ANBU's words before shaking his head and standing. He may be sad now but, in a few months, he would see Itachi again, and even for a few hours he would have his friend back.

Kei returned to the Inuzuka compound and walked into the kitchen where the family of three were still sitting. Tsume looked up as Kei walked and Kei answered the silent question.

"I burned Hana's pictures and the items I had from Itachi."

Kei watched as Hana's face fell before she looked back up with a look of strong determination. "Okaa-san, I think it's time I took a greater interest in the Clinic. I want to start my apprenticeship soon."

"I'll get everything prepared then." Tsume answered her daughter.

Kiba walked over to Kei and slung an arm over the younger boys shoulder. "Kei-chan, this is a really depressing air to have when your birthday is in two weeks."

Kei looked at his friend and saw the serious expression on Kiba's face before he started laughing. Kei couldn't help the laughter coming from him. Trust Kiba to be worried about Kei's birthday when everyone else was troubled over the Uchiha's.

"I guess that means that you'll have to give me a really big and really expensive gift to cancel out all the sadness." Kei responded with a smile.

"Hey! That's not fair! Kaa-san, Kei wants something big and expensive." Kiba yelled at his mother.

"Will a large cake suffice?" Tsume asked the pair.

"Chocolate!"

"Strawberry!" Kei and Kiba yelled.

"Chocolate." Kei glared at his friend.

"Strawberry!" Kiba countered.

"Kiba! It's Kei's birthday, he should choose the cake." Hana reprimanded her brother.

"But if I'm going to eat it too, I want it to taste delicious." Kiba whined.

"Let's fight Kiba. If I win it's chocolate and if you win it will be strawberry." Kei offered his friend. Kiba readily agreed and the two boys trooped outside. Tsume shared a smile with her daughter when two minutes later a happy Kei and a sulking Kiba entered the kitchen.

o.O.o

The two weeks flew by and when Kei's birthday finally arrived, Kakashi had asked Tsume, if they could have Kei's party at her house. Over time, Kurenai had expanded. The boxes were gone, but the Kunoichi decorated two-thirds of the shared apartment. First it was her apartment, next it was the new doorway between Kurenai's apartment and Kotetsu and Izumo's.

Gradually the door had disappeared to just combine the two living rooms. Kurenai decorated the new room, and then moved on to the rest of Kotetsu and Izumo's place. The kitchen was quickly redone, and then she invaded the Chuunin's rooms. She attempted to invade the Hatake's space, but Kakashi would get rid of anything she left behind and set up various traps around the hole.

The last time she tried, she showed up with purple paint and determined look in her eye, as she eyed their apartment. Kakashi had intercepted her and the resulting fight had left the Chuunin apartment nearly destroyed. That was why Kakashi had to ask to use the Inuzuka compound.

When the party arrived, Kei was happy, but he still felt a small bit of sadness at the absence of Itachi. The usual people were there to celebrate with him; Kakashi, Izumo, Kotetsu, Kurenai, Asuma, Guy, Kiba, Hana, and Tsume.

Kei received various gifts, but most were new weapons. Kiba had strayed from the path and had given Kei a photo album. Inside were all the pictures of the two of them that were taken over the year. Kei hugged his friend and declared it time for cake.

Tsume brought the cake out and Kiba was surprised to see it was strawberry instead of chocolate. Kei was asked why he switched, and Kei merely shrugged and said 'I was starting to crave strawberry cake.'

The rest of the celebration was filled with Kei and Kiba dragging Kotetsu around as they tried to terrorize Hana, but the female Chuunin kept managing to evade their tactics. When Kakashi and Izumo carried a sleeping Kei and Kiba into the house, the party ended. Both boys were placed in Kiba's room, as Kakashi was offered one of the guest rooms.

The next day Kei woke up and found a message waiting for him at breakfast. The Hokage had finally assigned his team a new sensei that they were to meet at 1 pm. Kei sighed now that his vacation was over. He decided to check on Sasuke before he met his new sensei.

Kei had checked up on Sasuke every day since the boy had been released from the hospital. He followed him from his house to the academy and home again. He scared off curious or ambitious civilians at the same time. When Sasuke was outside, Kei made sure the kitchen was stocked and a few times left meals that Tsume had made.

Kei never showed himself though. He didn't know how to strike up a conversation without seeming like the other people who wanted to use Sasuke. He didn't think 'I was your brothers good friend before he slaughtered everyone' would be a good opener. So he settled with following Sasuke and making sure the boy was okay.

When Kei arrived at the Uchiha compound, he found Sasuke in the back training field practicing with kunai. He watched the boy work for a while before he took out some paper and wrote corrections to Sasuke's form on it. He tied the end to one his kunai and threw it. It landed beside the boy's foot.

Sasuke had heard the kunai coming but moved too slowly, and Kei noticed the weakness. He wrote another note and used a shuriken this time. The shuriken landed beside the Kunai as Sasuke bent down to retrieve the note.

Kei watched as Sasuke stood up properly and fell into a defensive position, looking around for the culprit. Kei continued to watch as Sasuke relaxed but was still wary as he picked up both notes. Kei tried not to laugh at the surprised look that cross Sasuke's face at his notes.

"Whose out there?" Sasuke called.

Kei remained silent and continued to watch. Sasuke eventually gave up waiting and went back to practicing, but using the notes Kei gave him. At noon Kei took off and got lunch. When he finished he picked up something for Sasuke and left it in the kitchen before he took off to meet his new sensei.

* * *

The last few chapter I have gotten plenty of interesting History and culture classes about Australia.

I don't think this was their intent but I am going to go on vacation to Australia sometime soon.

Not going to lie, I just want to see a kangaroo.

Then I got to thinking. . . Who would win in a fight between a Dingo and a Ninken?

Sure ninken are ninja dogs, but have you read about how vicious dingos are? Plus they're wild, while ninken are domesticated.

Thoughts?


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

Summary: _How would the Naruto and Harry Potter worlds change if Harry was raised the traditional Hatake way._

Warnings: _implied child abuse, OC'ness, Future- Het, Slash (no one should discriminate against love), underage, fluff, smut, and possible abuse to the author  
_

_Beta: Kyuubi no Goddess_

___**Traveling Trouble**_

Kei arrived three minutes early, but hid in a tree. Akemi and Rikoto were already there and were sitting on a log. Akemi seemed to have been in the middle of a fascinating tale, if Rikoto's glazed expression was anything to go off of.

1 o'clock rolled around and their new sensei arrived. A Jounin wearing the standard Jounin uniform and vest lazily strolled into the clearing and sat at the base of a tree, near the pair on the log. He raised his hands behind his head and leaned back. He looked at the pair and examined them before speaking.

"Looks like we're missing one."

"Hello Sensei. It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Suzuki, Akemi and this is my boyfriend Hiroshima, Rikoto. "

"Who we missing?" The Jounin asked.

"Hatake, Kei, but he's always late! He has no respect in him at all." Akemi vehemently told the Jounin.

"The little Hatake hmm. . . I heard about him." The Jounin spared another look at the two before closing his eyes.

"Excuse me sensei, but you never introduced yourself, and what are you doing?" Akemi asked.

"I'll introduce myself when Hatake arrives. Until then I'm going to take a nap." Akemi sat on the log gaping at their new instructor.

"Why are you not upset? Atsushi-sensei was always angry when Kei arrived late." Akemi argued.

"Hmm. . . but I'm not Atsushi." The Jounin responded. Kei decided that the Jounin had a good idea and lay down on the branch. He moved a little to find a comfortable spot and closed his eyes. A nap was a wonderful idea.

Kei woke up to the sound of Akemi's screeching.

"An Hour and a Half! He has kept us waiting an hour and a half and all this lazy Jounin has done is sleep! This is ridiculous!" Akemi screamed.

"Akemi-san, shut up! I was sleeping." Kei yelled at the girl.

The clearing went quiet. Kei opened his eyes to see an irate Akemi standing over him.

"Do not tell me . . . that you have been sleeping . . . in this stupid tree . . . the entire time!" Akemi ground out.

"No, I only fell asleep when the new instructor mentioned a nap." Kei responded.

You. . .I. . .URG!" Akemi screamed at the end. The kunoichi leapt off the branch and stood beside her boyfriend, fuming.

The Jounin opened one eye when Kei landed in the clearing. "Enjoy your nap mini copy-nin?"

"I did. How was yours?" Kei responded.

"Adequate." The Jounin gave a big sigh before opening both eyes and standing. "I am Nara, Yoshi. I will be your new instructor until the next Chuunin exams. The Hokage has plans for you after that."

"That's it? The next Chuunin Exam is in 4 months." Akemi stared at the Jounin in disbelief.

"True. I guess I should train you a little. How old are you all anyways?" Yoshi asked them.

"Fourteen." Akemi answered.

"Thirteen."

"Six!" Kei happily chirped.

"Hmm. . . Today I think I will teach you how to read body language." Yoshi announced.

"Rule Nine." Kei mumbled.

"What was that puppy?" Yoshi focussed on Kei.

"Rule Nine: Watch People. You never know when they will do something stupid. That's how Nii-san taught me to read body language." Kei explained.

"Is that part of some stupid secret Hatake rulebook or something?" Akemi sneered.

"Why would we write it down? Anyone could steal it then!" Kei told the girl.

"You mean there are actual rules?" Akemi looked surprised.

"You don't know them?" Kei asked as he tilted his head to the side slightly. He was discovering ignorant shinobi every day.

"Che. . what's rule one? Always be late?" Akemi laughed lightly at her own joke.

"Yes."

"You're serious. . .? Oh this is unbelievable!" Akemi screamed.

"I'm actually interested. Rule 9 had actual merit behind it. Is there a reason to always being late?" Yoshi asked.

"Yes." Kei answered simply.

"Well what is it brat?" Akemi snapped.

"If you can't figure it out, why should I tell you?" Kei asked the girl.

Akemi looked ready to hit Kei, but Rikoto stepped in. "Akemi-chan, just calm down. If these are Hatake rules then we shouldn't be asking him about them. He can tell us if he wants, but we shouldn't force him." Rikoto softly spoke.

"They're not Hatake rules; they're the rules to being a good shinobi." Akemi glared at Kei for his statement.

"Hmm. . . I think it's time to go watch some people." Yoshi announced.

The group took off and Kei pointed out one of the best roofs to spy from. They sat together and Yoshi would point out a certain action or quirk to the Genin. He would explain what a certain movement meant, and how to anticipate what the person would do next. It was a simple exercise since they were only watching civilians.

Yoshi had them meet at the same roof everyday for a week, to practice. Kei thought it was because the Jounin didn't want to exert himself. At the end of the week, Rikoto made a comment on one of the civilian teenage girls.

"Oh, looks like she's ready to seduce someone." He whispered to Yoshi, but Kei overheard.

"How can you tell?" Kei asked the older boy.

Rikoto gave Kei a weird look before answering. "The way she's dressed and keeps looking at certain men."

Kei looked down, but couldn't tell who they were talking about. "I don't see her."

"Do you know what 'To Seduce' means? Yoshi asked.

"To ask someone to help you clean." Kei responded. Rikoto and Yoshi just stared at the young boy.

"Who told you that?" Yoshi asked while trying to hide a grin.

"Kotetsu-nii. "

"What did he tell you about it?" Yoshi followed up with.

"Umm. . ." Kei scrunched up his nose in concentration and tilted his head as he thought. "He said that sometimes people seduce others to help them clean their bedrooms. Seducing is another word for asking." Kei looked at the two grinning shinobi and saw that Akemi was still oblivious to the conversation.

"Did he tell you how they clean?" Rikoto asked with a wide grin and moved his eyebrows in a weird way.

"He said that 'When two people go to clean a room the lock the door, strip everything. One person will check everywhere and fill any holes' I think that's because they don't want mice to get in or bugs. Then he said 'They sometimes clean slow and gentle' but that probably so they don't miss a spot. 'Sometimes they clean fast and rough, and clean multiple times.' I think those people need to learn to clean, because they have to keep cleaning again for missing spots." Kei finished.

Rikoto and Yoshi were having a hard time keeping from laughing. Yoshi recovered first and responded to the confused 6 year-old.

"True, but who can say that one person's way of cleaning is the wrong way? Maybe they like cleaning like that. You don't know all the in and outs of cleaning, so you can't judge others. Besides, if everyone is satisfied in the end, then what's there to complain about?" Yoshi asked.

Kei took a moment to think about his sensei's words. "Well I guess if they are happy. . ." he trailed off.

"Okay team, I think were done with this exercise. How about we train and tomorrow try to get a C-rank mission?" Yoshi asked as he stood from his spot.

"Finally! I've gotten so bored." Rikoto said as he helped Akemi stand.

Yoshi took them to a training field and decided to test their fighting skills. He paired Kei and Akemi together, and pushed them to the middle of the field.

"Okay you can use any and all weapons on you, no ninjutsu, and winner if the one who draws first blood." Kei and Akemi nodded as they faced off. "Start"

Once the word left Yoshi's mouth, Kei and Akemi jumped back. Kei quickly drew a handful of senbon and threw them towards Akemi. Akemi jumped away, and started throwing shuriken. Kei ran up a tree and threw two kunai at the kunoichi. Once he reached a branch, he withdrew his tessen.

Kei jumped to the next tree when he sensed the shuriken coming towards him. Kei jumped again and twisted in the air, he opened one tessen and shifted the latch that held the hidden senbon. He slashed the tessen through the air and watched as the senbon flew towards Akemi in a wave.

Kei landed on a branch, opened the second tessen, and threw more senbon at the kunoichi. Akemi jumped to the side, but not far enough to avoid a senbon to the arm. Akemi pulled the senbon from her arm and hissed at the young boy.

"Good job you two. A little short, but it was 'til first blood. Right, now how about a taijutsu match?" Yoshi asked.

o.O.o

The next morning Yoshi walked his team into the mission office. Kotetsu and Izumo were sitting behind the desk throwing paper balls at each other and ignoring the other Chuunin working.

"Kotetsu! Izumo!" Kei said happily, as they entered the room.

"Kei-chan!" Kotetsu yelled as he sat up properly. "What can I do for?"

"Yoshi-sensei wants to take us on a C-rank mission. Do you have anything exciting you can give us?" Kei asked with big expectant eyes.

"Well. . ." Kotetsu began.

"I think I have something for you Kei-kun." Kei looked behind him to see the Hokage.

"Morning Hokage-sama." Kei greeted.

"Ah Yoshi-kun, how is team 2 treating you?" Sarutobi asked.

"Just fine, Kei is 10 minutes late every day, but that's fine." Yoshi answered.

"Only ten? He must like you. Anyways I have a mission here to Mist for a pick up. You up for it?" The Hokage handed the mission scroll to Yoshi.

"Sounds perfect." Kei and his team left the office and read over the scroll. They needed to travel to Mist and pick up a message. After the pick-up, they had to travel back to the village and hand it over to the civilian client. They hired shinobi since the message contained a much sought after secret sauce recipe.

Kei eagerly ran home and packed his bag. He went over the checklist Kakashi had put up for missions, and then went to see Kiba. He told his friend he had a mission out of the village, but would return soon. Kiba had been a little sad that Kei got to go off on amazing adventures while he had to go to the academy, but made Kei promise bring him a souvenir from Mist.

Kei arrived at the meeting spot 20 minutes late, but only because Tsume and Hana had insisted on checking his pack. Once the two females approved, he was allowed to go. Once he arrived, Yoshi led them out. As they were walking out, Kei thought about the note, he left Kakashi. It was short and simple.

_Nii-san!_

_I'm on a C-rank mission to Mist. Ask Kotetsu for more. _

_Love, _

_Kei_

_P.S Yoshi-sensei said to tell you that Kotetsu taught me what seduction means._

Kei hadn't been sure about leaving the post-script, but Yoshi had made him promise to when he left to go pack.

The first few days of travelling were boring. They didn't run into anyone or anything. They passed many trees while in fire country and then spent the rest of the trip on a boat. Once they landed in the land of Water, they travelled some more until they reached an out post station right outside of Kirigakure.

They had found the person they were looking for and retrieved the message. Afterwards they got a room and decided to rest. They make a schedule for watch, and settled in for the night. Kei had drawn first watch, and sat on the windowsill watching the towns night time activities.

He didn't see anything interesting except for a few drunks stumbling along the road. With nothing keeping his attention, he let his mind wander. Lately he didn't have a lot of time to check in on Sasuke, but he did get a few moments before dinner.

Sasuke had been studying or practicing every time Kei stopped by. Kei still left food for Sasuke, and knew the boy ate it, since his garbage was full of the empty containers, but Kei still felt he should do something for the boy soon.

Sasuke had become completely withdrawn, and seemed completely focused on something. Kei wanted to know what it was, but still didn't know how to approach the boy. He could wait and ask Itachi what he had done to his brother, but the question was slowing driving him mad. With Sasuke's behaviour and this question floating around, Kei knew he would need a plan to talk to Sasuke soon.

Kei was pulled from his thoughts when Yoshi rolled over and hit the wall. Kei checked over the room and found everything fine. Akemi and Rikoto were sleeping together on one bed, while Yoshi was on the other. Kei's futon was still folded, but he didn't need it yet. Kei waited a bit more before he went to wake Rikoto. He was happy Rikoto was next and not Akemi. The girl still hadn't warmed up to him.

o.O.o

Morning came and the team returned to the dock. They caught an early boat across and settled down for the sea voyage. Once they hit land, they travelled into the woods for a bit and set up camp. They had just finished with the tent when Kei smelled someone near.

"Yoshi-sensei, someone is coming." Kei whispered to the Jounin.

"Are you sure?" Yoshi asked Kei seriously.

"I can smell them. They smell like they're from Mist." Kei told the older shinobi.

Yoshi told them to carry on setting up camp while he disappeared into the trees. Rikoto and Akemi were making a fire when a yell was heard followed by a series of cursing. The three of them jumped up into a defensive position.

"Kei can you smell anything?" Rikoto asked.

Kei lowered his mask a little and took a deep breath. "Yoshi-sensei is fighting three people. He needs help." Kei answered quickly before replacing his mask and leaping in to the trees to help his sensei.

The three Genin arrived in a clearing to see their sensei fighting three shinobi. Kei took his trench knives out of the bandages on his legs and jumped between Yoshi and one of the shinobi who tried sneaking up on him. He focussed his chakra into the knives and smiled as they started to spark from his lightning affinity.

The shinobi in front of him was surprised for a second before he charged forward and tried punching Kei. Kei dodged to the side and swiped at the man's ribs. The man screamed as his side split open, but that didn't slow him down as he turned and attacked again. He pulled out a kunai and started swiping back at Kei.

Kei had to keep his defences up, as the man in front of him was strong and fast. Kei dodged to the side again but felt the skin on his cheek open. The man's kunai managed to graze his face, cutting his facemask and making a small cut.

Kei dropped to the ground but stayed on the balls of his feet, as the man rushed him. Kei waited until the last second to dodge the blow and move under the man's arms and through his legs. He twisted his body and attacked the man's back with his knives. Kei jumped a little to land a perfect hit to the back of the man's neck.

Kei had just landed when he felt hands on his arms and the feeling of being lifted. Kei looked over his shoulder to see another man glare at his before he was flying through the air. Kei didn't have a enough time to gain his bearings before he slammed into a tree and heard a crack. Kei screamed as his leg exploded in pain.

Kei opened his eyes enough to see Rikoto driving a Kunai in the second man's chest. The man fell to the ground and Rikoto turned his attention to Yoshi, who was still battling a shinobi. The enemy shinobi noticed the fallen bodies of his comrades and rushed Yoshi. Yoshi barely had time to side step, but apparently, that was what the enemy wanted. Kei spotted the enemy tucking the scroll with the secret recipe into his shirt before fleeing.

"He has the scroll, you need to go after him." Kei yelled.

Yoshi looked down and noticed that the scroll had been taken. "Akemi look after Kei, as Rikoto and I take chase." Yoshi commanded.

"No I'm going to." Akemi demanded.

"Akemi-"

"Oh, just all of you chase him already." Kei yelled as he interrupted Yoshi.

"Fine, let's go." The three of them quickly ran off after the enemy, and Kei was left in the clearing injured.

Kei closed his eyes and started taking deep breaths. He focussed on his breathing, hoping to lessen the pain, but he still felt sharp jolts of pain through his body. Kei continued to focus on breathing deeply when he heard shuffling.

Hoping it was Rikoto with his wonderful medical jutsu, Kei opened his eyes to see the man Rikoto had stabbed in the chest standing over him.

"You little brat! It will feel so good to kill you." The man's rough voice said.

Kei watched as the man formed hand seals and started pooling chakra into his hand. His hand started glowing a black light, and Kei's breathing sped up. Kei noticed that he had dropped his knives when he was thrown. He didn't have his knives, and senbon and tessen would hardly help right now. Kei tried to think of something, when he felt a familiar weight shift on his back. Kei moved his arm and grabbed his sabre.

Kei pulled the sabre at the same time as the shinobi slammed his arm down towards Kei's chest. Kei watched in a morbid fascination as his tanto sank into the man's chest where his heart was. Kei had a split second to watch the blood begin to run down the blade before the man's weird jutsu slammed into his chest.

Kei let out a blood-curdling scream as his body was wracked in pain. The jutsu faded as the man died, but Kei's body was still trembling from its affects. Kei felt himself coughing up blood as his eyes slowly started closing. He let out a loud wet cough, and caught movement in his peripheral vision. He turned his head slightly to see Yoshi, Rikoto, and Akemi rushing back into the clearing. Rikoto had just reached his side as he fell into darkness.

* * *

I know some people will be upset with the ending, but in my defense is seemed like a great way to end it at the time.

Also ninken won. It was close though. There was some undecided votes.

So I'm a big softy. When I watch reality shows I feel bad for the losers, but happy for the people continuing on, and then very confused from both of them.

I'm the type to cry while watching Harry Potter.

Anyways this chapters question is. If you could see Kei and/or Kakashi on any reality show, which would you choose?

I think a 6 year-old Kei would be adorable on X Factor.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

Summary: _How would the Naruto and Harry Potter worlds change if Harry was raised the traditional Hatake way._

Warnings: _implied child abuse, OC'ness,Het, Slash (no one should discriminate against love), underage, fluff, smut, and abuse to the author._

_Beta: Kyuubi no Goddess_

___**Hatake Horrors**_

Kakashi passed through the gates to the village, and contemplated going to see the Hokage. As quickly as the idea came, he cast it aside, and turned towards his apartment. If he was lucky, Kei would be home and they could do something together.

He entered the bedroom, and instantly noticed the note sitting on the pillow. Reading it, he felt a sigh leave his lips. Kei was away, and he would need to punish Kotetsu for trying to corrupt his innocent brother. Kakashi has worked hard keeping Kei away from certain things. He had hid all his Icha Icha books, and forbid anyone mentioning sex or sex related things around Kei. Kei would always be innocent in that aspect, if Kakashi had his way.

Sighing again, Kakashi resigned himself to a quick wash, and then reporting to the Hokage. It wasn't like the old man would be waiting for him to report on time. Kakashi hadn't done something that silly in years.

When Kakashi arrived in the Hokage's office he spent some time contemplating adding a cushioned bench to the windowsill. Kei liked to sit there, and it would make it more comfortable.

"Kakashi, are you ever going to make your report?" The Hokage's wizened voice drifted through Kakashi's thoughts.

"I am contemplating a bench." Kakashi told the leader in a serious voice.

"Just report." Sarutobi let out a small sigh.

"Successful, no other casualties, and no tracks back to here." Was the prompt response.

"Good, I expect the written report on me desk by the morning."

"How long do you think it would take to build a bench here?" Kakashi asked as he waved his hand at the Hokage's previous statement.

"Depends whose building it. You? Forever. Anyone else . . . maybe a few hours."

"It's for Kei!" Kakashi told the old man, while showing how insulted he was at the previous comment.

"Kei? Well then maybe an hour if you get the materials quickly. Wait, why are you building a bench in my office?" The Hokage took his turn to look affronted.

"Well-" Kakashi was cut off when an ANBU suddenly appeared in front of the Hokage's desk.

"Sorry to interrupt Hokage-sama, but Team 2 had just arrived back and are currently being escorted to the hospital."

"Yoshi's team?" The Hokage sent a worried look to the frozen Jounin near the window.

"Yes Hokage-sama. All members have received injuries, but one is currently in critical condition." The ANBU said in a monotone voice.

"Which one?" Kakashi demanded.

The ANBU turned slightly to face the masked Jounin and said in his monotone voice "Your brother."

Kakashi didn't bother waiting around as he jumped out the window and rushed to the hospital. He arrived at the front doors, and slammed them open as he ran to where he spotted Yoshi.

"What happened?" Kakashi ground out as he clutched the other Jounin's shirt in his fist.

"We're not sure. . ." the scared Jounin trailed off.

"Yoshi-sensei, why don't you go get healed. Akemi-chan and I will explain to Hatake-san." Kakashi turned his head to see a large teenage boy with a few bandages. Beside him stood a haughty looking girl who was also sporting a few bandages around her arms.

"Right, sounds good to me." Yoshi quickly extracted himself from the situation when Kakashi released his shirt.

"Explain." Kakashi glared at the pair in front of him. He knew who they were. He had dropped in on some of Kei's D-rank missions and training sessions to check out his team.

"We were on our way back from Mist, we decided to set up camp, but Kei sensed someone nearby. Yoshi-sensei went to inspect, but Kei sensed more enemies and we went to help. We started fighting, Kei took out one enemy, and I took out the second. The third enemy nin saw and fled with the scroll we were carrying. Kei was hurt with a broken leg, so we left him in the clearing while we chased the enemy. We just recovered the scroll when we heard his scream. We got back to the clearing but the second nin was laying on top of him dead, and Kei was coughing up blood. We rushed him back here." Rikoto explained.

"Why was he left alone?" Kakashi was starting to think of way to murder Yoshi without being caught. He was a Jounin, he should know to never leave an injured comrade alone when you have people to spare. He hardly thought it took three shinobi to recover one scroll from one nin.

"The brat told us all to go. It's his own fault." Kakashi glared at the girl who just spoke.

"What do you mean?" Kakashi hissed. Kakashi noticed that the boy seemed nervous about something. "Answer me." Kakashi demanded.

"Akemi-chan was ordered to stay with him, but she didn't want to, so Kei told us all to pursue the enemy." Rikoto rushed out before shooting the girl an apologetic look.

"You abandoned a comrade?" Kakashi increased his glare towards the girl. Not only was she disrespecting the shinobi ways, but she also abandoned his baby brother.

"How was I supposed to know the second guy wasn't dead. . ."

"You don't but that doesn't justify leaving an injured teammate alone. If you listened to your sensei, then you probably could have stopped Kei being hurt. I wouldn't have to hear from ANBU that my baby brother is in critical condition. "Kakashi noted that the girl started to look a little guilty. He didn't care though. Looking guilty after the incident didn't heal his brother.

"You better hope he's okay, because if he doesn't recover, then no tracking team alive will be able to find your tortured and mutilated body." Kakashi growled at the girl. Kakashi watched as fear filled the young kunoichi eyes, but he merely turned and stalked down the hall trying to find Kei.

An hour later Kakashi was finally admitted to see Kei. Kakashi wanted to cry at the sight of his little brother. He looked too young and innocent to be lying in a hospital bed, covered in bandages and bruises. They were feeding him oxygen through his facemask, and his leg was heavily covered.

"Hatake-san. . ." one of the medic nin hesitantly spoke.

"Tell me everything." Kakashi demanded without taking his eyes from Kei.

"One of his legs was broken, there was several abrasion, and a cut on his cheek-"

"Did anyone see his face?" Kakashi harshly interrupted.

"The more senior medics stopped anyone who attempted to remove his mask." The medic replied.

Kakashi let out a sigh of relief, before he waved his hand for them to continue.

"Besides there were no other broken bones. . ."

"But" Kakashi prompted.

"There seems to be serious injury to his chest and nerve damage throughout the body. We sent out for a few more experienced medics to come in and heal what they can." The medic finished their report and silently stood by.

"Where are his things?" Kakashi couldn't do anything right now, but he could at least have everything ready for when Kei woke up.

"The table by the door."

Kakashi didn't move. He stood by Kei's bed, holding his bandaged hand until two medics came in. They explained where they were taking Kei and why. Kakashi let him, but he stood in the doorway watching them move his brother until they rounded a corner. He turned towards the table and organized everything there. Kakashi noted that Kei's knives, prussian tessen, and the sabre were missing.

Kakashi walked back to the waiting room where Rikoto and Akemi were sitting. Rikoto seemed to be ignoring the girl, and staring at the wall with a fierce intensity.

"Did you retrieve Kei's things?" Kakashi directed his question towards Rikoto.

"What? No, we left everything and immediately took him here." Rikoto answered. He seemed to debate with himself before asking, "How is he?"

"Bad. Where were you attacked? I want the exact location of your camp and the clearing you fought."

Rikoto quickly listed off the coordinates, and Kakashi pulled up a mental map and plotted them. After that, he left the two in the waiting room and went to the Hokage. He needed to have a chat with the old man.

Kakashi stood in front of the Hokage with a serious expression. "I'm leaving to retrieve Kei's things, and I'm resigning from ANBU."

o.O.o

Kei woke up and felt sore. It wasn't a normal sore. It was more of a tingling sore. He tried to check his body but as soon as he tried to move his fingers, a wave of burning pain shot through his arm and made him gasp.

"I don't think that's the best idea." He heard a fuzzy voice from his left side. It sounded like it was far off and coming through a wall. Kei opened his eyes wanting to see who it was, but once his eyes opened, they burned from the bright light. Kei hissed and his shoulder jerked at the unexpected pain to his eyes. This only led to another burning wave of pain down his arm and chest, making him let out an agonizing groan. Moving was a terrible thing at the moment.

"I wouldn't do that either." The fuzzy voice sounded amused with a slight waver. Kei wanted to hit or throw something at the person, but he doubted the pain for such an action would be worth it. "You're in pretty bad shape Kei-chan."

Kei concentrated on the voice. It sounded familiar but still fuzzy. He tried thinking harder, but his head started pounding. Kei let out a whimper and decided thinking was just as bad at moving. "Kei-chan are you okay? Do I need to yell for someone?" The fuzzy voice turned frantic, but Kei finally realized whom it was.

"K-kiba?" Kei rasped. The action burned his throat and he started coughing. Kei felt his body being drenched in the constant waves of pain as his body refused to stop coughing. The coughs were being mixed in or with his groans and whimpers of pain, but they wouldn't stop. Through the noise he was making he barely heard as Kiba started yelling for help. Kei felt something liquid in his throat before a coppery taste hit his tongue and he fell into blackness again.

o.O.o

Kakashi dropped by the Inuzuka compound before he left and told Tsume what happened. He watched as Kiba had rushed to Kei's side, and felt better that he knew someone he trusted/liked would be by Kei's side as he was out.

He arrived at the clearing and grabbed Kei's bag. He considered taking his teammates stuff, but that was his own little revenge, to leave it since none of them had stayed to protect Kei. Plus, if they really wanted it, they could retrieve it themselves.

At the clearing where they fought, he inspected both the dead bodies. One was covered in cuts that were burned around the edges. Kakashi noted that this was the first one Kei must have killed. Two feet away, he picked up Kei's knives. When he walked over to the second body, he spotted the tessen. Itachi may have betrayed the village, but Kei still cherished the tessen. Kakashi would never get rid of them, simply because Kei treasured them.

Kakashi stood by the second body and used his foot to roll it over. He saw the tanto sticking out from the heart area, and another chest wound. Kakashi inspected it and saw that it was pretty shallow and missed anything critical. This nin had obviously played dead, and no one noticed.

Kakashi wished the man was still breathing. Just to take one death off Kei's conscious, and so he could personally be the reason that the shinobi left this world. Kakashi knew he couldn't always be there to protect Kei, but that didn't stop his desire to always shield Kei. He had spent many nights thinking about his choice to push Kei along the same path he was pushed on. He had stupidly believed Kei wouldn't have to face the same horrors he had to. He didn't think Kei would have his first kill at 6.

Kakashi selfishly wanted to demand the Hokage only assign Kei risk-free D-rank missions, until he was 20 or 30. . . Or at least until Kakashi died. But, the only thing Kakashi could do was quit ANBU and be around for Kei more. He already turned in his mask. Now the next Inu ANBU could do all the dangerous missions. Kakashi wouldn't worry about that mask again.

Kakashi pulled the tanto out of the shinobi's chest, and wiped most of the blood off on the dead man's pants. Looking at both bodies one more time, Kakashi stored the weapons and left.

o.O.o

Kei woke a second time, and noticed that the tingling soreness wasn't as intense this time around. He moved one finger and let out a sigh of relief that all he felt was a twinge of pain and soreness and a slight stiffness. He felt someone starting to pet his hair, but resisted the urge to open his eyes.

"Don't move or talk. I'm going to have everyone leave the room, and then I'll give you ice shavings for your throat." Kei didn't bother nodding, but he did feel a small smile when he heard his brothers voice.

Kei heard the door close and then felt as his mask was lowered. He felt the coldness on his lips and opened them slightly.

"The room is pretty dark, so you should be able to open your eyes." Kei listened to his brother and slowly opened them.

The room was dark, but he could still see Kakashi's worried face clearly. There was a small pounding behind his eyes but he ignored it. "Nii-san. . ."

"Otouto . . . I'm so glad you're okay." Kakashi starting stroking Kei's cheek as he took in his little brothers face. "You've been out for a few days." He quietly told Kei.

"Nii-san. . . I . . ." Kei tried to speak, but tears were filling his eyes.

"I know Otouto, we'll get through this together, and I promise to be around whenever you need me." Kakashi climbed into the bed and wrapped his arms around Kei.

"Does it . . .e-ever get. . . e-easier?" Kei choked out as he curled himself into Kakashi.

"The first few times you kill are the hardest, but then you remember that you are doing what is best for your life and what is best for the village. The enemy attacked you first, and you defended yourself. Every time a shinobi accepts a mission, they must prepare themselves to die or to kill. It's not that it gets easier, it's just that you get used to the blood." Kakashi whispered.

"When I kill I remind myself that I do this so I can make it safer for you. So there is one less bad guy out there to hurt you. Afterwards I find a way to honour the life I took. You should always honour the person in some way. Whether it is just remembering their name, or giving them a goodbye."

"How do I honour them this time? I don't know their names." Kei whispered back as he turned his large watery eyes on his brother.

"I retrieved your weapons. There's still blood on the sabre and the knives. When you feel better, we will clean them. As the blood washes away so will your guilt, and the water can cleanse their souls. You can say good bye that way and have honoured them." Kakashi suggested.

"What if you get a mission?"

"I quit ANBU and I took a small vacation. I am all yours for the next week or so." Kakashi watched as a small smile formed on Kei's face and his canine teeth stuck out a little.

"What's this? Extended time with me at least deserves more than a small smile. Come on, I want to see all your teeth and twinkling eyes!" Kakashi lightly reprimanded his brother. Kei broke out into a big smile and Kakashi lowered his mask to show off his matching one.

o.O.o

The next few weeks Konoha witnessed something slightly terrifying. The first day Kei was released they saw the brothers walking to the river hand in hand. They didn't think anything of it. After that, the pair would be seen at various places in the village reading.

They wouldn't have bothered with the sight except for a few things. Kei was dressed similar to Kakashi, they would stand in the exact same position, and they both held an orange book. A famous orange book.

Several shinobi were scared that Kei was turning into an exact replica of his brother. Kakashi was known to be lazy, but that was only outside of missions. On missions, people heard tales about his ruthless and bloody killing style. One Chuunin had told his friends that he witnessed Kakashi returning from a mission soaked in blood and had stayed that way for days, because he liked how it felt.

The Chuunin's tale had spread far and many were eyeing the pair in fear. If Kakashi was that way, then Kei was probably right behind him. When the rumours spread about Kakashi another rumour popped up about Kei. This one told how he had single-handily killed off waves of Mist nin and had laughed the entire time as he jumped in their puddles of blood.

The brothers ignored the rumours, while other Genin and Chuunin started taking alternate routes whenever they encountered the brothers. Their resemblance and rumours were too much for the faint-hearted.

The villagers got a treat a few days later. Kurenai had stormed into the marketplace, where the brothers were currently reading in a windowsill, and marched over to them.

"Hatake Kakashi, what do you think you are doing letting Kei read that stuff!" the kunoichi yelled as she pointed towards the offending orange books.

"What do you mean?" The brothers asked as they tilted their heads to the side. The villagers shivered in fear at the synchronization.

"Those filthy porn books you're reading." The kunoichi fumed.

"What's porn? I'm reading a children's book Kurenai-san" Kei told the woman.

"What?" Kurenai grabbed the book from Kei's hands and flipped it over to read the title "The Adventures of Satoshi the Young Shogi Master. But Kakashi you always read porn!" Kurenai tried to point out to save face.

"I'm also reading 'Satoshi the Young Shogi Master'" Kakashi said as he showed the kunoichi the cover of his orange book. "Really, Kurenai, you should be ashamed, talking about such things when young, impressionable, shinobi are around." Kakashi said as he covered Kei's ears. "Ashamed!"

"Nii-san, what's porn?" Kei asked.

"Porn is something bad that Kurenai likes to read. You should never read it or even touch it until you're at least 40, or I'm dead. It's absolutely terrible." Kakashi seriously told his young brother. "Now Kei, I think we should find a new spot to read. After all we were almost at the good part where Satoshi enters the finals."

Kakashi stole Kei's book back from a stunned Kurenai and the pair took off. Kurenai couldn't believe what had just happened, while the villagers thoughts were running wild. Kurenai apparently read porn, while the copy-nin spoke badly about it. Also, no one giggled like that when reading about Shogi. The villagers felt even more afraid of the Hatake brothers.

* * *

I had many amusing reviews last chapter. There are quite a few people possessive over Kei, and several funny suggestions for reality shows.

Someone pointed out that the Hatake brothers wouldn't be on a show because they would arrive 3 hours late.

True. I was going to ask a sports themed question this time around because I was watching 'Whistle' and 'Shion no ou',

but the same logic would probably apply if they were to join a sports team. They would never play because their late.

So the question will be. . . 'Rain! What's it's deal?' no. . . real question = 'Who would win in a fight: 6 year-old Kei or all 5 power rangers?'


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

Summary: _How would the Naruto and Harry Potter worlds change if Harry was raised the traditional Hatake way._

Warnings: _implied child abuse, OC'ness, Het, Slash, underage, fluff, smut, and abuse to the author._

_Beta: Kyuubi no Goddess_

**Discomforting Directions**

Kei sat on an examination bed kicking his feet as he waited for the medic-nin. Since they couldn't figure out the jutsu the other nin used on him, they had forbidden him from training while he healed. His nerves had been given quite the beating and his hurt chest had almost crushed his lungs, but other than those small problems, he appeared perfectly fit.

Kei looked towards the door, where Kakashi was waiting. This medic seemed to be familiar with Hatake's since she told them 10 am, but had really written the appointment for 11:30. Kei's respect for her had gone up. Kakashi had been a little upset at that and decided to wait by the door, so the medic could be greeted with his glare.

Kei didn't mind the ban from training too much. He had been allowed to spend unlimited time with his brother. Kakashi had taken him to the river, and then they spent the day at home watching movies. Afterwards, they had gone to the book store and Kakashi had told him to choose a book series. Their time together had been great, and Kei was sad that it might end.

The medic entered and gave a small smile to Kakashi before addressing Kei. "Hello Kei-kun. How about we jump right into the exam?"

"Alright Kujyo-san!" Kei stopped kicking his feet and laid down.

Kujyo gathered her chakra to her hands, and started checking Kei's body. She started at the top and made sure there was nothing wrong with the brain before moving down. She took extra care to examine Kei's spine and lungs, before checking his arms and legs. Once done she gave a satisfied nod and spoke. "Well you seem alright. You may still have shortness of breath, and you should be careful with your leg. We can fix almost anything, but you still need to let somethings heal naturally."

"Thank you Kujyo-san! Can I go now?" Kei asked with eager eyes.

"No." Kujyo said firmly before Kei could make it to the window.

"Kujyo-san. . .?" Kei turned helpless eyes on the medic.

"Those won't work on me. You can't leave until I tell you something important." Kujyo saw both brothers adopt an apprehensive atmosphere. "That window will not open. It's best if you use the one from my office. Right out the door, two doors down on the left side."

"Thanks, you're almost as great as Nii-san, Kujyo-san!" Kei told the medic as he dashed to his brothers side.

"Almost? I healed you. Shouldn't I be better than him?" Kujyo lightly asked the young boy.

"But no one is better than Nii-san! When I grow up and become a Jounin, I want to know over a thousand jutsu's just like Nii-san. No one can beat Nii-san. Right, Nii-san?" Kei clutched his brother's pants, as he stared at him with a look full of admiration.

"Well. . ." Kakashi chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head. "I will always win when someone threatens you otouto."

"See! He said he would always win Kujyo-san." Kei turned his attention back to the medic. "Come on Nii-san we need to get home. You said you would read me the next section of the book, where Satoshi fights against Shigeru for the chance to face the Meijin!" Kei grabbed Kakashi's hand and pulled him out the door and turned left.

"Kei-chan, she said right." Kakashi laid his free hand on the young boys shoulder and steered him in the other direction.

Kujyo laughed quietly at the pair. She had treated Kakashi several times over the years, and now it seemed she had his little brother to deal with now as well. She just hoped that Kei wouldn't get into the habit of escaping before the medics could finish healing him. How many times they had to send ANBU after Kakashi, was beyond her.

She wanted to stand around and relive the more humorous chase scene from Kakashi, but an old family friend's son, had taken in an orphan a year ago. The child got hurt a lot and Kujyo was asked frequently to come by and help. The child was apparently wary of the hospital, but Kujyo didn't mind making house calls.

o.O.o

Kei spent the last few days of his freedom from his teammates in the park. Kakashi had been sent on an ANBU training session. The first Hokage had set up a program to help shinobi leave their ANBU mindsets and be more mentally stable when they leave black ops. Kakashi had been given time off to spend with Kei, but once the Hokage found out Kei was fine, he was sent off.

One day he had stopped by Sasuke's and found the cupboards nearly empty and mainly had protein bars. Kei had felt bad and had left to get him groceries. He made dinner and left it out for when Sasuke returned from the academy. He apparently needed to watch Sasuke more closely. Kei sighed at the thought of Sasuke, while he sat in his favourite spot in the park and read 'Satoshi the Young Shogi Master'.

Kei watched as Kiba ran into the park followed by three other boys. Kei put away his book and sniffed the wind that was coming from behind the boys. Kei watched as Kiba smelled the air and seemed to perk up. Kei barely had time to prepare himself before Kiba ran over and threw himself at his friend. Kei laughed as they settled into their usual greeting. The pair laughed as they wrestled like two puppies. Kiba ended up winning when he pinned Kei down and sat on the smaller boy's back in triumph.

"Kiba-kun can you please get off me? You're heavy!" Kei whined.

"Kei-chan I didn't know you would be here today. Why didn't you tell me?" Kiba asked while slightly sticking out his bottom lip.

"I didn't decide until after lunch."

"Kiba what are you doing? You have to stay away from him!" One of the boys yelled.

Kei winced at the boy's volume. He turned around to see a boy with bright blonde hair, blue eyes, and a bandaged right cheek glaring at him. Kei didn't know what he had done to this boy and sat on the ground with a bemused expression.

"What are you talking about Naruto?" Kiba growled as he placed himself in front of his friend.

"Kiba, the first rule to being a good shinobi is to avoid people with white hair and facemasks!" the blonde yelled.

"That's a stupid rule!" Kiba growled.

"That just seems troublesome. I don't think that's a real rule." Another boy spoke up. He has dark hair that was tied up in a spiky ponytail. Kei vaguely remembered him from somewhere.

"Yeah I agree with Shikamaru." The last boy said. He was a large boy with red swirls on his cheeks. Kei was instantly fascinated with the bag of chips the boy was eating. Kei hazily remembered this one too.

"Wow. . ." Kei said as he stared at the boy.

The swirly cheek boy seemed to have noticed and started looking upset. "What do you mean 'wow'?" He asked.

"Choji I'm sure he didn't mean it like that..." Kiba said with a nervous lilt.

"Those chips have been sold out for weeks, how did you find them?" Kei asked as he stood and walked towards the boy. "Are you like some type of royalty or did you save someone important and they gave you those chips?" Kei asked as he gave the bigger boy a look of pure admiration.

"You mean you weren't going to call me fat?" The bigger boy asked.

"Fat? Why would you be called fat?" Kei innocently asked. He met a few Akimichi and they were all sensitive about that word. It was an unwritten shinobi code to never call that clan fat.

"Really? Do you want some chips?" The bigger boy asked.

"Thank you!" Kei said as he jumped at the chance to eat some of the chips. The chips were really sold out all across fire country.

"Choji what are you doing? I just said you have to stay away from him. Iruka-sensei said so." The loud one screamed.

"I don't know Naruto. He seems like a great guy." Choji defended Kei.

"Who are you?" Spiky ponytail asked.

"Oh guys this is my best friend Kei. Kei this is Shikamaru, Choji and Naruto." Kiba introduced.

"It's nice to meet you all." Kei said with a small wave.

"Since there's four of us, can we play ninja?" Choji asked.

"Yeah! Let's play! Only not with him. Iruka told me to stay away from his types." Naruto loudly exclaimed while pointing at Kei. Kei gave the blonde-haired person a kind look in response.

"I would like to play, but I was wondering why none of you are in class? Kiba didn't you tell me you wanted to be a shinobi?" Kei turned to look at his friend.

"Hehehe. . . well you see. . .Naruto-" Kiba said while rubbing the back of his neck, a habit he picked up from Kei, before he was interrupted.

"Don't blame this on me!" Naruto yelled.

"But you suggested it!" Kiba growled back.

"But you didn't have to follow me!" Naruto countered. Kei searched his memories for how his brother would handle this situation. Kei perked up at the sudden inspiration.

"Now now boys, no need to point fingers. You should both take responsibility." Kei gave them a happy and calm look that Kakashi used. "After all, the only one to blame for being a failure as a shinobi is the person themselves. If you skip class, you won't pass."

Kei gave himself a mental pat on the shoulder. Kakashi had told Kotetsu and Izumo the same thing when they whined about getting beat by Kei, except the last sentence. Kei was pretty sure he heard that from Guy one day.

"Oh yeah? I bet I could beat you! I will be Hokage one day." Naruto directed his anger towards Kei. Kei was secretly glad his sweater covered his forehead protector, which he had tied around his neck that day. Naruto was clearly hotheaded and if he knew, Kei was a Genin then who knows where this fight would go.

"You couldn't beat Kei. Kei would kick your ass any day in a fight, He's alr-"

"Kiba-kun." Kei interrupted with a sweet voice. "Where did you learn that language?"

"Umm. . . Hana-nee?" Kiba sheepishly asked.

"Kaa-san has forbidden us from using those words!" Kei sent a soft glare at his friend.

"Please don't tell. If you come over for dinner tonight I'll give you my dessert!" Kiba bribed.

"I have other dinner plans though." Kei pouted. Tsume-kaa always made the best cakes.

"With who?" Kiba asked. Kei thought his demeanour change was weird. He had gone from pleading to almost hostile. Was he mad at Kei?

"No one special. I can come by after and eat your dessert!" Kei happily told his friend. He didn't want to anger Kiba further, so he decided not to tell him he was getting dinner prepared for Sasuke.

"and spend the night. . ."

"I would love to sleep over!"

"Good."

"Well now that, that is out of the way, shouldn't you four return to class?" Kei asked.

"Why aren't you in class?" Naruto glared at Kei.

"I'm six." Kei answered. It was the best way to avoid telling them that he was a Genin.

"Well we're eight and already training to be awesome shinobi!" Naruto boasted.

Kei gave the blonde another smile with his eyes and turned to Kiba. "I should leave. Make sure you get to class." Kei said as he waved at the others and walked away. He would have jumped in the trees but he didn't want to show his chakra control.

"Kei, that way leads to the village wall. . ." Kiba yelled.

Kei merely waved off the comment and kept walking. He could deal with a visit to the wall. Guy had once told him that running along the wall was great training.

o.O.o

A few days after the park incident, Kei was finally allowed to rejoin his team on missions. Kakashi had decided he wanted to escort Kei to his team meeting place. Before they reached the clearing, Kakashi stopped them and bent down to Kei's level.

"Kei. . . I know that your team has bullied you in the past." Kakashi started.

Kei tilted his head to the side and stayed silent while Kakashi gathered his words.

"When people insult you, they're really complimenting you in a different way. For example when Kurenai tells me I have a brother complex, she is really saying that she knows how much I care about you. On the other hand, when she says Kotetsu is lazy. She really means that she thinks Kotetsu is awesome for not having to train as much to stay in shape. Get it?" Kakashi stared straight into Kei's eyes.

"So when they say I'm short. . ."

"It means their looking forward to your growth."

"Or they say I'm annoying. . ."

"They're jealous that you can make your presence known over them."

"Really?"

"Would I lie to you?" Kakashi asked.

"No! You're the best Nii-san!" Kei happily said as he hugged Kakashi.

"Just remember, every insult is just a hidden compliment. Hmm, actually I believe that's rule 11!" Kakashi explained.

"There's more than 10 rules?" Kei asked while his eyes got wider.

"Yes, but you can't learn the others until you're older. Now, let's get you to your team meeting." Kakashi said as he stood up and grabbed Kei's hand.

The duo casually walked into the clearing to see Yoshi-sensei half hiding behind a tree, staring at the other two shinobi. Rikoto was leaning against a tree and glaring at Akemi, who was on the other side of the clearing; arms crossed, and had a scary aura about her.

"Nii-san- I think something bad is happening here." Kei whispered.

"Kei-chan this is a perfect example of rule 10."

The pair warily looked at the Kunoichi, and together whispered, "Demon. . ."

* * *

I don't think anyone will be surprised but. . .Power Rangers totally got their asses handed to them by Kei.

I also thoroughly enjoyed all the comments that described how the fight would go.

Also there are apparently several different types of Power Rangers. . .I didn't know that. Now to find Kei a worthy opponet

Kei vs. Godzilla

The battle is on. . .


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer_: I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

Warnings: _implied child abuse, OC'ness, Het, Slash, fluff, smut, and abuse to the author._

Beta_: Kyuubi no Goddess_

o.O.o

**River Run**

Kei settled down in his usual tree at the Uchiha compound, and gave a sigh of relief. The last few weeks had been terrible. His team would train hard every day, but the training atmosphere was tense. Rikoto had broken up with Akemi over her actions, and the kunoichi had been glaring, insulting, and downright cruel to the males. Yoshi-sensei had been able to escape her attacks since he was a Jounin, but Kei and Rikoto were often on the receiving end of her 'accidents'.

Yoshi-sensei had kindly informed them that after the next Chuunin exams, the Hokage promised to reassign them. That statement was their only shining hope when they went to train. Kei had tried to show up later and later, but Akemi had taken to storming the village. She had even barged into Kotetsu and Izumo's apartment twice. Kei had luckily narrowly escaped through the window and had fled.

The only time Kei could escape her crazy attacks was when he was checking up on Sasuke or with Tsume. The head of the canine clan had terrified Akemi when she tried dragging Kei away from breakfast. Plus, Akemi would never think to check the Uchiha complex when there was only one resident. This thought brought him back to the main point for his visit to Sasuke.

He was going on a mission. A mission to see Itachi. Yoshi-sensei, Rikoto, and Akemi all thought that they were merely going to River Country to purchase the Hokage some spices. The ninja leader had claimed that the spices were only sold in River Country and he liked to use them for his evening meal. They apparently kept him in such great shape.

Sasuke had been getting more and more withdrawn lately. He would practice until his hands and feet bled, and then eat an energy bar and go again. The first thing Kei was going to do when he saw his friend, besides hug him, was to demand to know what Itachi had done to his brother. Sasuke didn't resemble the younger brother Itachi often spoke up, and Kei wanted to know why. He also needed to help Sasuke. His brother had told him about avengers, and they didn't seem like happy people.

Kei watched Sasuke practice for a few more minutes before he wrote a note, attached it to a kunai, and threw it at the boy. Sasuke had apparently felt it coming closer and whipped around, but he still wasn't fast enough to move away when the Kunai landed between his feet.

Kei had done this a few times. He just gave the older boy a few helpful comments and suggestions. It was Sasuke's choice to follow them or not. Kei watched as the older boy removed the note then threw the kunai back. It landed on the tree beside him, but about a meter below. He was getting closer and closer to pinpointing where Kei was, but still not close enough. The difference of an inch could determine if you live or die in the shinobi world.

Kei studied Sasuke for another five minutes before he jumped away and into the house. He checked the cabinets and made a mental checklist of what Sasuke would need, and what he clearly did not eat. Sasuke still had a shelf dedicated to energy bars, and Kei had taken to placing small traps around them. If the Uchiha wanted to eat them so much to train, then he wouldn't mind dismantling a few tips and tricks.

Kei noted that three of his four traps had been tripped. The last one was still intact, so Sasuke had managed to bypass it, or it didn't go off. Kei reached into the drawer below the sink and knocked the back to reveal a hidden compartment. He stored all the supplies he needed for traps here. He quickly took our some wire, and other items, and re-trapped the cabinet. This time he set up five traps and one was set to go off when Sasuke attempted to lift an energy bar.

Kei heard Sasuke walking in from the front door, and he swiftly leapt out the window. Sasuke had started to attempt to sneak up on whoever left him groceries. He had gotten better, but Kei could still hear and smell him. He had an unfair advantage but he wasn't going to tell Sasuke. He would merely leave a note somewhere, telling Sasuke why he was able to escape. The notes ranged from commenting on Sasuke's loud breathing and footsteps, and the sounds of doors or windows opening. It was Sasuke's job to overcome these.

Kei left his note and took off. This time he told Sasuke that the door still sounded like it was being slammed open. To normal ears, it would have been like a soft sound, but to trained shinobi it would be a warning to intruders. Kei also mentioned that Sasuke had to pick up his own groceries for the next week. He had to leave in an hour, which meant Kei could have a refreshing two hour nap, and a nice dinner at Kiba's.

o.O.o

The trip to River Country was uneventful. It was mainly silent, and full of glaring. Kei had taken to staying on the opposite side of Yoshi-sensei from Akemi. The kunoichi had switched tactics since leaving the village though. She was still cruel to Kei, but had taken to being sweet with Yoshi-sensei and blinking rapidly at Rikoto while smiling. Kurenai had told Kei that when females do this to guy, that they are trying to attract the male. Kei didn't see the point. To him the entire process just made him think that the kunoichi had lots of dust in her eyes. He was going to offer her some water to wash them out, but thought better of it.

The second night they set up camp, Kei took extra care to study the area. When he checked the map, their current campsite was about 2 kilometres away from his meeting place with Itachi. He didn't need to see the older boy for another 2 days, which meant that if they picked up the spices quickly, than they could use this same area to camp, when he needed to meet Itachi.

Kei offered to scout the area, and summoned Ranmaru. The three of them took off and searched for the clearing. It took 30 minutes before the trio entered a clearing, and Kei spotted a tessen craved into a tree trunk. He carefully walked over and could smell the faint scent of Itachi around the tessen. Kei tore a piece of his shirt and tied it on a branch before leaving. When the time came he would sniff out the shirt in the dark, to find the clearing again.

In the two days after Kei and his team had purchased everything on the Hokage's list. Akemi had refused to carry any bags, but with Rikoto's large frame and strength, it didn't matter. Afterwards Yoshi-sensei had sealed everything in a scroll, and they left the small village. Kei had convinced them to camp near their original spot, and offered to take the last shift. Before anyone could protest, Kei slipped into his own tent and pretended to sleep.

When night fell, Kei waited until Yoshi-sensei's shift was done. Yoshi-sensei had first shift, while Rikoto was second and Akemi third. Yoshi-sensei would have been able to catch Kei if he snuck out, but Rikoto wouldn't be able to.

Kei listened for Yoshi-sensei's breathing to even out after Rikoto took over. As if on cue, Kei heard Akemi leave her tent.

"Rikoto we need to talk about this!" the kunoichi harshly whispered. Kei listened to their pause, thinking they were probably waiting to see if anyone woke up.

"Akemi-chan, I have already made my decision. I don't want to date you anymore. You have a terrible attitude, and I'm surprised you're still a shinobi with your past actions." Rikoto whispered back.

"So the brat could have died... he ordered me to leave. It's his own fault. How many times do I need to tell you to not even bother with him?"

"Yes, he did say to go, but he was injured and you got a direct command from a Jounin. No matter what he said, you should have stayed. It is not just Kei. What about your actions these last few weeks? You are bringing our personal problems on missions. Learn to act more professional!" Rikoto vehemently whispered to the kunoichi.

Kei had been quietly preparing to leave while Rikoto was talking, but paused when he stopped. Their argument was the perfect cover for him, but he couldn't do anything when they were silent. Kei carefully balanced on the balls of his feet, while he waited for one of them to talk again.

"The brat is the problem. Everything was fine until you decided to be nice to him. Atsushi-sensei told us to ignore him, or else there would be problems. I listened but you didn't and now look." Akemi responded.

"He's six. He's a six year old boy, and you are talking about him like he's some huge psychotic shinobi. He's a genius and we should feel honoured to have him on our team. We could learn from him, but instead you only want to treat him like a pest. Plus, Atsushi is dead, his words have no effect now."

"Uchiha Itachi was a genius too, and he slaughtered his clan and Atsushi-sensei. How do we know that the brat won't do the same? Itachi and the brat were friends you know. The brat could already be planning how to kill off the rest of the village."

Kei mentally fumed at the girl. It was one thing to insult him, but to attack Itachi and talk about him in such a way. He knew that the entire village now held a bad opinion about Itachi, but that didn't stop Kei from feeling hurt on his friend's behalf. Kei peeked out his tent and saw Rikoto fully stand and tower over the kunoichi.

"Never talk about Kei that way again. You can't base your opinion off the actions of one. Kei's brother, Kakashi, is also a genius and he's one of the villages most respected shinobi. You're bigotry is one of the reasons that I will never take you back!" Rikoto swore.

Kei decided it was time to go. Akemi started babbling about the past and why they were great together, so Kei snuck out of camp while she talked. When he was safely away from camp, he quickly ran towards the clearing.

Kei stood in a tree by the clearing and waited. It wouldn't do to enter the clearing and find someone other than Itachi waiting. A black shape slowly emerged from the shadows and stood beside the marked tree, but Kei didn't move. The shape stayed still and Kei watched until a small gust of wind blew the shape's scent towards him. Kei felt himself grin when he recognized the comforting scent of Itachi. Kei slowly withdrew one of the green senbon Itachi had once given him and threw it towards the shape. It fell just before the shape, and the light of the moon shone down illuminating the color.

The shape bent down and plucked the senbon from the ground. When the shape stood, they reached up and lowered the hood. Kei happily jumped out of the tree when he saw his friend's face. A nose wasn't perfect, and neither were eyes, but together they couldn't fool Kei. Kei ran forward and jumped into his friends arms. It had been too long.

"I've missed you Kei-chan." Itachi whispered.

"Mished ouu too" Kei mumbled into Itachi's neck. Kakashi, Kiba, and Itachi were his three favourite scents.

Itachi held him for another minute before he lowered the younger boy back to the ground. "Now tell me how you have been."

Kei sat down and told Itachi what he missed. Itachi would interrupt to ask for more details, but other than that, let Kei talk. When Kei came to the bit about being injured on the Mist mission, Itachi looked ready to storm the team's campsite for Akemi. Kei hesitated on telling him the rest, but knew his friend would be upset about the withheld information. Kei finished his tale with the conversation he overheard before coming.

"Would this Akemi be missed?" Itachi casually asked while he looked off into the trees.

"Probably. I think she has two sisters." Kei answered.

"Pity."

"Tell me what you have been up too?" Kei eagerly asked.

"Not a lot. I made contact with the Akatsuki, and they seemed hesitant to accept me at first. Once they heard that I killed off all the Uchiha's they sent someone to investigate. They came back supporting my claim, and then they seemed overjoyed at me joining. I can't tell you too much about them here, but I do have it written up. Read the scroll with the Hokage when you get back." Itachi held out a blue scroll to the younger boy.

Kei adopted a serious face before taking out his summoning scroll. He summoned Ranmaru and took the scroll from Itachi to tie around one of the twins neck. Kakashi had taught him the trick him after the Mist mission. To carry important documents and scrolls, they could attach them to their ninken. That way if they are attacked, the enemy won't be able to find the scroll. Even if they figured it out, they wouldn't be able to summon the dogs.

The summoning scrolls also had a failsafe. In case a Hatake died while on a mission and their ninken held a scroll, they would appear long enough to get the scroll to its destination. After all, a shinobi's life didn't matter- completing the mission did. Kei explained this to Itachi while he sent Ranmaru back. Itachi's report would be safe and guaranteed to get back to the Hokage.

"Kei-chan before you leave, how about a fight? I would like to see how much you have improved."

"No genjutsu though." Kei responded.

"And no ninjutsu. Also, the winner gets a prize."

"But-"Kei was cut off by Itachi's foot flying towards his face.

Kei jumped out of the way, but was slightly grazed. Kei felt the pressure as Itachi's attacks continued to rain down. He managed to dodge most of them, but he took a few hits to the ribs. Kei managed to jump into a tree branch, but his relief didn't last as Itachi quickly followed him.

"You're small Kei-chan; you need to learn to use your height to your advantage." Itachi said while he sent a shower of shuriken at the little shinobi. Kei took out one of his tessen and used it to sweep away most of the shuriken.

"What do you mean?" Kei asked while he hit the latch and sent senbon towards Itachi.

"There's an advantage to being small. You need to discover what it is." Itachi lectured. Kei didn't know what Itachi meant, and couldn't think about it properly while he was being attacked.

Being small meant that he didn't have the physical strength to beat an opponent, or the height to intimidate. Sure being so small he could hide in smaller, hardly noticeable places, but that didn't exactly help with fights. He could hide and disappear, but . . .Kei got a sudden thought of inspiration. Maybe this is what Itachi meant.

Itachi paused briefly when he saw the sudden glint of a new discovery in Kei's eyes. He hoped the boy figured it out. Itachi tensed when the younger boy suddenly rushed him. Itachi got ready to attack again but Kei moved slightly to the right and disappeared. Itachi didn't feel the spike of chakra which meant a ninjutsu or genjutsu, but Kei had definitely disappeared. Before he could ponder this more, he felt a presence behind him and the sudden jolt of pain as he was hit in the side. He whipped around to see a happy Kei standing there. Itachi smirked before he dove at the little shinobi. The fight ended three seconds later.

"I won Kei-chan. I wonder what I should claim as my prize." Itachi said as he sat on top of Kei's back.

"Can you get off me Itachi-nii? You're heavy." Kei slightly whined.

"Fine . . ." Itachi gracefully stood before helping Kei to his feet. "Now for my prize, what do you have on you?"

Kei emptied his pockets and pouches and let Itachi choose whatever he liked. Itachi barely wasted a second deciding before zeroing on the rice balls Kei had on him.

"I was going to eat those!" Kei protested.

"I won, so these are mine." Itachi simply replied. Kei gave a small sigh as he watched the older boy enjoy his winnings. When Itachi reached the last rice ball, Kei spoke.

"Itachi-nii, what did you do to Sasuke-kun?" Kei gave the older boy slightly accusing eyes as he asked his question.

Itachi lowered the last rice ball before speaking. "I told him to get strong enough to beat me, if he wants revenge."

"Why?"

"I would rather he hate me, than attempt to go after the real culprit." Itachi whispered. "Kei-chan, I think it's about time you return."

Kei didn't respond. Instead, he crawled into his friends lap and buried his face into Itachi's neck. Kei felt Itachi's arms wrap around him and he gave a sigh of contentment. "I don't want to wait a whole year before I can see you again." Kei confessed.

"Me either, but a shinobi's life isn't perfect." Itachi lightly carded his fingers through Kei's hair for a few minutes. "Kei-chan, you need to go."

Kei gave a huge sigh, expressing how much effort it was to separate from his friend, but he did eventually let go.

"I have an idea." Itachi said before he took off his cloak. Kei watched as Itachi removed the t-shirt he was wearing and handed it over. "You won't be able to see me, but my scent should linger for a few weeks on the shirt."

Kei happily grabbed the shirt and threw it on. He held up the front, sniffed it, and shot Itachi a happy expression. "If I send it with Ranmaru they can keep the smell longer, and hide it from Nii-san."

"Now go, before you're caught." Itachi said as he lightly pushed Kei towards his campsite. Kei gave the older boy another hug before leaving.

o.O.o

Kei couldn't stop the giggles from his mouth when Akemi tripped again. It was the last day of their mission, and ever since that night he met Itachi, Akemi had been the victim of a series of accidents. Several times, she had fallen into random potholes, or the branches she jumped on would be sticky or slippery.

A few times, she had been used by different animals as a bathroom, and had been walking into trees. She claimed that the path had been clear, but then the tree had seemed to materialize after she ran into it. None of the males believed her, since they had been able to see the tree the entire time.

Kei felt the scroll on his back. Itachi had managed to sneak it into Kei's tent the night he saw him. Kei had returned to the camp to see Akemi sleeping on shift, so Kei had crawled back into his tent, and fell asleep. He originally thought of taking a short nap before waking Akemi and taking over, but before he knew it Yoshi-sensei was waking him and looking agitated.

Yoshi-sensei had been angry with Akemi for sleeping, but had waved off Kei's apologies. He didn't believe that Kei was at fault for the kunoichi's actions. Kei had found the scroll lying beside his pillow, and when he opened it, he found a new training schedule that Itachi had written for him.

Kei knew that Itachi had something to do with her accidents; since he could faintly, smell the older boy on the wind, but Itachi had kept at a safe distanced and suppressed his chakra so Yoshi-sensei couldn't sense him. Two miles until Konoha the accidents stopped. Kei knew it was because Itachi didn't risk going closer.

Team 2 reported to the Hokage, but afterwards Kei stayed behind. The Hokage sealed his office after dismissing the ANBU guards. Kei summoned Ranmaru and took back the scroll. The Hokage opened the scroll and started reading aloud for Kei.

"The leader of the Akatsuki is Pain. Pain. . ." Kei stared out the window as the Hokage's words washed over him.

* * *

So Parrot Post has asked me twice now "I want to know if Kakashi would get more upset at Kei deciding he liked Kurenai's girl clothes or Gai's jumpsuit?" Valid question . . . so as a treat I decided to answer in story form. . . (*cough and finally answer cough*)

**Omake Time!**

_Kakashi jumped through the window and let out a small sigh of relief. After a 2 week long mission, he was finally allowed to return home and see Kei. He quickly grabbed his things for a wash and walked into the bathroom to find Kei sitting naked on the floor with a piece of clothing in each hand._

_"Kei, what are you doing?" Kakashi curiously asked._

_"Nii-san! You're finally home!" Kei cheered as he launched himself across the room and into his brothers arms- clothes still clutched in his hands._

_"It's good to see you Kei, but why are you sitting in the bathroom naked?" Kakashi asked while lowering Kei to the ground._

_"Well everyone is busy with missions, so the laundry hasn't been done, and I'm still too little to do it, so all I have left to wear is either the kimono's Kurenai has given me, or the green jumpsuit from Guy. I was trying to decide which one to wear. . ." Kei explained as he held up both pieces of clothing._

_Kakashi stared in horror at the green spandex suit, and a white and purple peacock kimono. Kakashi closed his eye as he resigned himself to this fate. Kneeling down, he opened his eye and placed his hands on Kei's shoulders._

_"Kei-chan, my sweet and precious little brother. It is time you learned rule 57. Never ever, wear that horrid green jumpsuit."_

**Also people have been asking after the Hatake Rules. Here they are... More may be added later, and some haven't been mentioned yet**.

The Hatake Rules:

1) Never be on time.

2) Doors are evil.

3) Hatake's do what they want, where they want, when they want. Unless told otherwise by the Hokage, then they do what they want, when they want, out of sight of the Hokage.

4) The worst excuse is the best excuse!

5) Never let others see you eat. It adds an air of mystery.

6) Constantly following someone is the best way to annoy them.

7) Avoid Cats at all possible.

8) _(hasn't been mentioned yet. . .)_

9) Watch people, you never know when they will do silly things.

10) Kunoichi are a demon class of their own.

11) Behind every insult is a compliment.

* * *

Kei beat Godzilla.

I originally wanted to post this chapter before christmas, but shopping, cooking, snowman building, just took too much time.

So Happy belated Holidays and a good New Year!

hmm question. . .

Which would you have Kei wear: Green jumpsuit or white and purple kimono?


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way.

Warnings: implied child abuse, OC'ness, Het, Slash, underage, fluff, smut, and abuse to the author.

Beta: Kyuubi no Goddess

**AN**: I noticed how much I planned for 6 year-old Kei and realized I was ready for Kei to grow up a little more. Thus going over my notes while watching the Russia/Finland World Junior game, I decided 'What the hell! Let's get this done with! Let's conclude Kei's sixth year of life.' Thus this chapter.

**AN 2**: I have been asked several times if Kei would be going to Hogwarts. Yes. He will receive a letter at 11 just like in the books. Just let him grow up some. You can only enjoy his cute phase for so long.

**AN 3**: A few people pointed out I use 'Guy' instead of 'Gai'. I like 'Guy' better and chose to use that version instead. My beta pointed it out long ago, but I ignored her. Sorry Kyuu. The author gets creative license right? The write of way?_

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**White Wonder or TLCTGKPAS**

_(The Long Chapter That Gets Kei Past Age Six)_

Kei finally had an idea on how to approach Sasuke. The idea had come to him while he was walking through the market and overheard a conversation between sisters.

"Onee-chan, can you believe that he said it was haunted! Like ghosts live there. They float around, and the mean ones eat children!" The young girl said with wide eyes and a slight trembling bottom lip.

"Ghosts can't eat children, they would pass right through." The Chuunin told the young girl.

"But he said they could! That's why no one lives there, they get eaten right away!" Kei tried to hold in a snicker at the girls theatrics. They were around the same age, but Kei felt older than the girl. Probably because he knew that ghosts can't eat people- they only steal their soul. Thinking of ghosts, Kei had a brilliant idea on how to approach Sasuke.

He had a plan to prepare for. Kei crawled through his bedroom window and dove towards the closet. Kurenai had given him a white and silver kimono a few months back, and Kei finally had a reason to wear it. He just wasn't going to let anyone know. After he dug out the bag, he set it by the window and snuck out into the rest of the apartment. He carefully hid in the shadows as he made his way through Kotetsu and Izumo's apartment. Afterwards he stealthily snuck into Kurenai's section and into her bedroom.

Kei lucked out when he heard the water running in the bathroom. Kurenai had the day off, and Kei had narrowly escaped being made into a doll, when Rikoto showed up to ensure Kei made it to training on time. Now he just needed to continue to avoid the kunoichi. Kei quickly found what he wanted and snatched the jar and left.

Kei grabbed the kimono before leaving. He couldn't properly prepare in the apartment where anyone would walk in. Kei entered one of the deserted houses in the Uchiha complex and looked for a large mirror. His following actions were something he swore to himself to never repeat.

Kei undressed and removed everything, including his mask. He let his hair down and slowly put on the kimono. He struggled for a bit trying to figure the confusing piece of clothing out that was an obi, and in the end just put in on whatever way it stayed at the time. That done, he picked up the item he stole from Kurenai.

Kei opened the jar and took out a white puffy pad thing that covered the white powder inside. Kurenai had once told him that this powder attracted certain men. Kei didn't understand why you would want to attract attention. As a shinobi you should try to be invisible, not expose yourself more._ 'Maybe Kurenai isn't a good shinobi. That's probably why she's not allowed to wear a vest like Nii-san'_ Kei thought.

Pushing Kurenai's shinobi skills aside, Kei put the jar down but held onto the pad thing. Carefully he raised his opposite hand and hit it the pad hard. A white cloud of powder formed, and Kei started coughing in the middle. When the cloud settled Kei was mostly covered in the powder. Kei resigned himself to having to go through the experience twice.

He dipped the pad back into the powder, hesitantly raised it, and lifted his hand. Quickly taking a deep breath, squeezing his eyes shut, and looking way, Kei hit the pad again- quite hard. Kei mentally counted to 20 before opening his eyes and staring into the mirror.

The mirror had a fine layer of powder on the surface, so he quickly wiped it away, and stared at his reflection. He was white. Kei did a thorough inspection to ensure he wasn't missing any spots, and gave a jump of joy when he found none. Phase One complete.

Looking down, Kei realized he never brought appropriate shoes. Thinking quickly he decided to forgo shoes and just push Chakra to his feet. Maybe it would make him look like he was floating. Powering chakra to his feet, like when he did the water walking exercise, Kei took a tentative step and fell. '_This isn't good...'_ Kei warily thought as he stood up.

For water walking you need to regulate the chakra flow to your feet like the waves, so you don't sink. Opposed to the tree walking exercise where you're trying to make your feet stick. '_Maybe if I combine them...'_ Kei jumped to his feet and tried to figure this floating thing out.

Half an hour later, with many stumbles and falls, Kei finally mastered to float. He couldn't keep it long, but it should be enjoy to make it look like he was walking on air for a few minutes to show Sasuke then he could lower himself onto something and preserve chakra. Grinning in success Kei was about to walk outside when he noticed his appearance in the mirror. His kimono and obi were a mess, and he lost a significant amount of powder. Turning slowly, Kei sent a slightly fearful look towards the powder jar. He was positive that he heard an evil cackle come from it.

o.O.o

Sasuke felt something was off. He couldn't place it but it was like a sense of something to come. He felt someone watching him. He wasn't sure if it was the same person since, that presence usually hid in the clump of tree's at the edge of the property, and the current presence seemed to come from the residential section of the compound.

Sasuke ignored it for now and continued to train. He needed to beat his brother. He needed to be the best. The only way he could achieve that was to train, train, and train. He didn't need sympathy, pity, or mysterious stalkers. He just needed to be strong and he wouldn't stop until he was the strongest ninja alive. Sasuke threw another kunai and let out an explosive sigh when it just missed the mark.

"That was awfully close." A soft voice spoke from behind him. Sasuke whipped around and gaped at what he saw. Before him stood a young girl, but he couldn't figure out, how she snuck up on him. She had wild messy hair that stopped midway down her upper arm, pale skin, white hair, in fact everything was white except her bright green eyes.

"Who are you?" Sasuke asked as he slowly adopted a defensive stance. He lived in the shinobi world, anyone could be an enemy.

"I'm your guardian spirit." The girl spoke softly again but gave him a bright smile and head tilt.

"Why would a cute girl be my guardian spirit?" Sasuke scoffed. He noticed the dimming smile and slight twitch of the girl's eyebrow at his statement.

"You shouldn't judge on appearances alone." Her voice was still soft but now held a slight edge to it. "This cute girl could probably beat you to a bloody mess before you even reach for a kunai." Sasuke received another bright smile at the end of her sentence.

"Right. . . You're probably just another fangirl who thought that playing dress up would get you closer to me." Sasuke waved his hand in dismissal and turned away. She was cute and creative, he would give her that, but he didn't need any distractions.

"What did I say about judging appearances?" Sasuke felt something cold press against his throat when that soft voice whispered into his ear. He hadn't even sensed the girl moving. Looking down he saw a slim pale arm holding a kunai to his throat.

"Who are you?" Sasuke whispered as his eyes stayed on the kunai.

"I told you. I'm your guardian spirit." The girl giggled as she slowly withdrew the kunai. Sasuke watched as she walked around him and towards the rock, he kept his weapons pouch on. He noticed that her kimono had silver running through it, her obi was slightly off, as if she blindly tied it, and then the fact she was walking on air. '_Wait, what?'_ Sasuke thought as he did a double take.

When the girl sat on the rock, Sasuke was still standing still, and staring at the spot where he had just discovered that the girl floated. "Are you really a spirit?" Sasuke asked in a low voice. He was about to ask again, this time stronger, since he doubted she heard the first time.

"Of course, who did you think left you all the food?" Sasuke didn't say anything as he stared at her. "Did I break you Sasuke-kun?" She asked with another head tilt.

Sasuke blushed slightly at the girls actions. _'Well she is pretty cute...'_ He mentally defended himself. Sasuke tried to think this situation through. There was a pale white girl, who floated, claiming to be a spirit, and the one leaving him food. He never did figure out who left him food all the time, and the girl did sneak up on him not once, but twice. Plus, she floated. Civilians and shinobi just didn't walk around floating. Shinobi could jump high and run on rooftops, but they didn't float. The ground under her wasn't even disturbed. She floated.

"I believe you?" Sasuke wasn't sure if he was asking her or himself the question. She floated! That made him believe her just a tiny bit.

"Great! We have a lot to discuss Sasuke-kun." The girl happily clapped her hands together. Sasuke noticed the slight white cloud that formed after the action. He decided to file it away as some spirit thing.

"What do we need to talk about?" Sasuke asked as he hesitantly walked towards the girl. His feet touched the ground.

"Well your brother for one." Sasuke instantly went on the defensive and snarled at the girl.

"What about that bastard?" Sasuke growled out as he glared at the girl.

"Don't give me that look." The girl gave a small glare back, but it was mixed with a pout. Sasuke felt his expression melt at the sight.

'_Damn, this isn't fair! Why would Kami-sama give me a cute girl for a guardian? I could be properly mad if my spirit was an ugly boy or something.'_ Sasuke mentally complained. "I'm sorry..." Sasuke whispered lowly as he looked down, and lightly kicked some dirt.

"It's okay. Now sit with me and I will tell you why your brother did what he did." Sasuke instantly perked up. He always wanted to know his brothers motivation, but never investigated. He figured he would never find the reason in Konoha. Sasuke quickly sat beside the girl and gave her all his attention.

"Well..." The girl gave a small sigh and looked towards the main house. "I knew Itachi. I even came here a few times to visit. He really loved you Sasuke-kun, and he wasn't responsible for the downfall of your clan." Sasuke blanched at her words. First, he learned she had been there before. Meaning other members of his family met the spirit girl. Second, she claimed that Itachi wasn't responsible for his clan's death.

"Lies! I know he killed them. He showed me. I spent hours doing nothing but being forced to watch as he killed everyone several times." Sasuke hissed at the spirit girl.

"I know Itachi did the actual killing, but it wasn't of his own free will. He didn't want to do it, he tried fighting it, but in the end the only thing he could do was leave you alive. He did and still does love you." The spirit girl reached out and took one of Sasuke's hand and gave it a squeeze.

"No... Itachi is responsible... He has to be..." Sasuke wanted to rage and hit the girl for spouting such lies. He wanted to scream and demand she leave him alone, but at the same time, he couldn't. A part of him, that he thought he had destroyed reared its head and demanded he listen. That the person he admired the most, his brother, wasn't actually responsible. He wanted to believe but at the same time couldn't.

"A shinobi should always look underneath the underneath. Nothing is ever simple or straightforward." Sasuke listened to her soft voice and spared her a glance. She was staring off again. Sasuke followed her gaze and noticed she was looking towards Itachi's old bedroom window.

"This is a lot to take in. If he wasn't responsible like you claim then why he would tell me to get strong enough to be beat him?" Sasuke asked as he returned his attention to the spirit girl.

"Maybe it was his twisted way of making sure you live your dream. You always wanted to be a great shinobi. He could have just taken a twisted route to motivate you. Your brother may be a skilled shinobi, but he's still an idiot." Sasuke laughed slightly at the spirit's statement. Even though the topic was terrible and morbid, hearing Itachi being called an idiot was still amusing.

Hearing his laugh, the spirit girl turned back to him and sent him a mischievous grin. Sasuke noticed the larger then normal and sharp canine teeth, but it didn't surprise him after the floating bit.

"I never got your name." Sasuke pointed out. He missed the slight widening of the spirit eyes.

"Yuki." Was the small hesitant reply. Sasuke brushed the tone aside.

"A beautiful name for a beautiful girl." Sasuke said with as much charm as he could muster. He noticed the eye twitch return, and gave Yuki a questioning look.

"You shouldn't judge people on their appearance." Was the reply as the spirit turned her face away and pouted again.

o.O.o

The next morning on his walk to the academy, Sasuke waited until his fan club grew to its peak, before stopping and facing the girls. "I have an announcement to make." He said loudly. The fangirls instantly went quiet and focussed their crazy obsessive eyes on him.

Sasuke cleared his throat and began. "I have found the girl I intend to spend the rest of my life with." He watched as the girls faces filled with anticipation. Some of them even swelled and looked slightly smug, while others fluttered their eyelashes towards him. He shot a quick glance to his two biggest fans. They were standing facing each other and glaring.

"She is smart, beautiful and strong. She's perfect in every way." Sasuke said. He adopted a slightly dreamy look when he thought back to sitting and talking with Yuki. "Next time I see her, I will give her my first kiss." He announced.

The girls started forming glazed looks and few even had drool falling from their mouths. Sasuke smirked as he was about to destroy their dreams. "Her name is..." Sasuke's smirk grew when all the girls leaned forward in anticipation, "Yuki."

Sasuke felt a thrill of satisfaction when most of the girl fell to the ground. His two biggest fans both yelled at the same time

"What? I'll kill her!" They then turned and glared at each other. Sasuke didn't feel any worry. Yuki was strong and could easily beat them. That's why he intended to marry her one day. Sure she was a spirit, but if she could float, they could find a way to make it work.

Sasuke was positive that Yuki would be fine against the blonde and pinkette that were starting to fight each other off to the side. What were their names again? Yamato and Haruka? Whatever, they didn't matter when they could barely hold a candle to Yuki.

As Sasuke walked away and thought about Yuki, Kei laid sprawled across his brother's chest, ignoring the banging on the door from Kurenai. She was screaming about her makeup powder that went missing. Kakashi tuned her out and wrapped his arms more firmly around his brother, and Kei briefly thought back to the jar he left behind. He had decided to never touch it again unless he needed to play Yuki once more- the young boy was oblivious to the events his stunt would inspire. The brothers continued to ignore the angry Kunoichi and fell back asleep.

o.O.o

Kei yawned as he lazily strolled into the clearing. Konoha would be hosting the Chuunin exams this time around. They were scheduled to start tomorrow and Yoshi-sensei wanted to have one last pep talk with the team before the exam. When he noticed that he had shown up early, only five minutes late, he chose a tree and took a nap. He only woke up when he heard Akemi let out an explosive string of curses.

Yawning again, he strolled over to a log and lay down, intending to nap again.

"Don't you dare go to sleep! You're already late you damn brat!" Akemi screamed. Kei ignored her.

"Well now that we're all here, we can start." Yoshi-sensei happily cheered. "Tomorrow's exam will test on your teamwork, and then you're own individual skills. In addition, with your team's past actions and record, it will also determine what the Hokage does with you. You may be promoted, sent back to the academy, or worst case scenario, you could be forbidden from being a shinobi."

Kei just gave the Jounin a blank stare. Rikoto fidgeted slightly, but Akemi looked ready to blow. Sensing her mood, Yoshi-sensei quickly went on. "Right, meet me in front of the academy tomorrow at 7 am. Kei please don't be late. Tardiness could have you disqualified." Yoshi-sensei sent the young boy a pleading look before taking off. Kei glanced towards a red Akemi and fled as well.

The next morning Kei casually strolled up to his team and gave a small wave "Yo."

"Kei are you okay?" Rikoto hesitantly asked. Kei noticed the looks of disbelief on Yoshi and Akemi faces.

"I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Kei asked while tilting his head. He was 30 minutes late. They should be upset. He hadn't actually meant to be late, but a black cat had jumped in his path on the way here, and he needed to take a long detour to avoid the cats evil intentions.

"You're on time..." The older boy slowly said.

Kei gave the boy a bemused expression before looking at his brother's watch. "I have 7:30."

"It's only 5 to 7." Rikoto explained.

"What?" Kei walked forward and grabbed the older boy's wrist and checked the time. Seeing that he was telling the truth, Kei sent a pout towards his brother's watch. Someone had messed with it. Kei was betting on Kurenai. She still seemed to blame his brother for her missing makeup.

"Whatever we should just be glad that he finally came on time, damn brat." Akemi whispered the last words under her breath but Kei still heard.

"Well um... truth be told, you still have an hour before the start of the exam." Yoshi-sensei told the Genin.

"What do you mean?" Akemi hissed.

"Well I thought Kei would be late so I asked you to meet me here early, that way if Kei was late, then you would still make it on time." The Jounin explained.

"Unbelievable..." Akemi whispered. Rikoto just seemed amused and Kei gave the Jounin a sweet look and a wave.

"Huh... maybe you should just go inside and wait. Kei can nap, Rikoto can plan and Akemi can... not throttle the boys?" Akemi shot the Jounin a poisonous glare. "Right good luck!" Yoshi-sensei then fled like the day before.

o.O.o

This time around, the exam went a little easier for Team 2. The first test was on teamwork. They had to work together and set off a series of switches at the same time to get past the first obstacle. Kei had said that Rikoto should be the leader, and Akemi had instantly agreed, still trying to gain favour with the tall Genin.

The end of the first test, they were given a choice. They were told that if two of the members decided than they could instantly advance to the third and final round, but they had to leave their third team member behind. Akemi was ready to agree but Rikoto firmly told the proctor that they advanced as a team or not at all. They passed to the second test.

The second test, Team 2 was thrown into the Forest of Death, and given a large board. The test was designed so that all the teams had to find six puzzle pieces and complete the picture. The pieces were hidden in the forest, and they had seven days to find them and complete the picture.

Rikoto carried the board. Kei would have offered but the board itself was just as tall as the youngest Genin, and his arms couldn't reach the sides. He cursed the need for such a large board, but figured it was to hamper their abilities and see how they adapt. After all, that was a skill that any great shinobi had- the ability to adapt and overcome.

They learned quickly that the number different pieces hidden differed. They had found 10 of the same piece, 3 of another, and only 1 of a certain one. The other 6 they had yet to stumble across. On the second day, Akemi made a good suggestion. She stated they should just find another team, attack, and see if they had any of the pieces they needed. Kei and Rikoto agreed and Kei quickly sniffed out another team to ambush. Akemi's suggestion had merit. They found a piece they needed on the team, and decided to just keep going with this strategy.

Four days into the test, they just finished fighting an Iwa team and they discovered the last piece they needed. Akemi took the piece while Kei and Rikoto hid the harder to find pieces and destroyed the more common pieces. This was to ensure they if they lost a piece they could quickly backtrack, pick up the pieces they hid, and increasing their chances of passing.

"I think it's time we head to the tower." Rikoto quietly announced.

"Thank Kami-sama... I want real food and a bath." Akemi complained.

"Don't let your guard down yet." Kei warned. He received two bemused expressions from his teammates. "I bet were not the only team to think of attacking others for the pieces. Some might have decided to wait by the tower, and attack when they know another team will have gathered all the pieces. Why waste energy, when you can collect in one go?" Kei pointed out.

Rikoto and Akemi instantly got serious again. Kei was right. Never let your guard down. They quietly made their way to the tower. Rikoto was the first to notice the genjutsu they were about to walk into. Akemi found a different path, and Kei kept his nose on alert for any other potential ambushes.

They had one narrow escape when they were about to leave the cover of the trees, but Kei warned them quickly enough to avoid the traps. Kei and Rikoto quickly dived into the bushes where the waiting enemies sat, while Akemi took out two katana's to defend their puzzle board. Rikoto and Kei didn't have trouble dispatching the grass nin, and Team 2 quickly entered to tower. They passed the second test.

The proctor congratulated them and they were told that in a month, the third test would take place. They had to wait in the tower for the last three days, until the test was officially over. They were just glad that they didn't need to fight anymore.

Kei was excited to finally leave the forest. He wanted to see his Nii-san and eat dango. Four days without his delicious dango was cruel and unusual torture. Kei eagerly burst through the window when he arrived home and dove at his brother.

"Nii-san! I passed the second test!" Kei yelled as he latched onto the older Hatake.

"Good job otouto, I knew you would do well." Kakashi whispered as he cuddled the younger boy. Kakashi had been worried about Kei being in the Forest of Death. Taking Kei away for seven days, when they were both still in Konoha, was cruel and unusual punishment.

"I have something special I want to teach you." Kakashi announced once the younger boy finally loosened his grip.

"What are you teaching me?" Kei eagerly waited for a response.

"A special technique, but first you need to bathe and then how about we get some dango." Kakashi chuckled when Kei flew out the door and into the bathroom. His little brother was just too cute.

o.O.o

Kiba happily entered the stadium with the rest of his class. Their instructors had told them that they were going on a field trip to watch the final round of the Chuunin exams. Kiba had originally planned to skip that day and watch with this mother and sister, but when they announced that the academy students were going, he decided to spend time with his friends.

Kiba took a seat next to Shikamaru. Choji sat on Shika's other side and Naruto took the seat beside Kiba. Kiba was still a little miffed at how Naruto treated Kei that one time, but the blonde was still fun to be around. Kiba heard sighing and giggling and looked around to see a group of girls sending shy glances towards someone behind him. Kiba turned his head to see that Sasuke had taken the seat directly behind him. He decided to just ignore the boy.

Kiba eagerly sat forward when the finalist entered the stadium. He frowned when he noticed that Kei was missing. Surely his best friend wouldn't be late to such an important event. Kiba thought over it again and let out a sigh. Of course, Kei would be late. He had disappeared weeks ago with his brother.

The first match was a leaf shinobi against a lightning nin. The big leaf Genin had easily taken the mist nin down, and didn't even seem to break a sweat. Kiba was impressed and slightly in awe. He wanted to be big and strong like the leaf nin. Kiba absently recalled his name had been Rikoto.

The second match was against a lightning nin and a sand nin. It was an okay fight. The lightning nin attacked straight away, and the sand nin stayed on defense. Kiba watched the long fight. The lightning nin kept attacking but when he finally got tired, the sand nin attacked and quickly ended the match.

The third round didn't interested Kiba. A leaf kunoichi against a sand nin. The large sand nin had entered the arena and barely gave the leaf kunoichi a glance. The fight didn't last long. Both were skilled with long range fighting, but the sand nin had the better aim in the end.

Fourth round was between the last sand nin and lightning nin. The sand kunoichi was swiftly beaten by the lightning kunoichi. The fifth round would between the lightning kunoichi and Kei before the semi finals started. The announcer told everyone the kunoichi would get a 10 minute rest before the fifth fight.

When time was up, the kunoichi moodily stood in the arena waiting for her opponent.

"Would Hatake Kei please enter the arena." The announcer said. Even he sounded resigned to the tardiness of the Hatake family. Looking around Kiba noticed that several shinobi seemed amused at the event. "Hatake Kei, you have 5 minutes to get to the arena." The announcer dutifully announced.

"Who would be late for something like this?" Naruto loudly said.

"Maybe he was hungry." Choji suggested. Kiba heard the small scoff from behind him.

"So troublesome- he's probably wanting a big entrance." Shikamaru offered to the conversation.

"I'm sure he'll show up." Kiba said while he grinned at his friends. As if on cue, a poof of smoke appeared in the middle of the arena. When the smoke cleared, Kei stood facing the audience.

"Yo." Kei said while giving an innocent small wave to his opponent.

Kiba laughed loudly at his friend. When he recovered, he noticed his friends staring at Kei in disbelief.

"Kiba-kun isn't that your friend..." Choji slowly asked.

"Yeah, Kei has a problem with being on time." Kiba told them.

o.O.o

Sasuke had been mostly bored with the matches. The real matches wouldn't happen until the semi finals, when the weaker shinobi who had only been carried this far by their stronger teammates would be gone. He half listened to the boys in front on him, but didn't really care about their conversation. He was still upset that Yuki hadn't come back.

When the fifth round arrived, he was annoyed with the shinobi who was late. When the smoke started clearing, he saw the white hair and softly spoke "Yuki..."

Sasuke was disappointed when instead of his cute guardian, it was a little boy with white hair and a facemask.

"Kiba-kun isn't that your friend..." The Akimichi asked.

"Yeah, Kei has a problem with being on time." The Inuzuka answered. Sasuke studied the young Genin again. Sasuke was slightly impressed that someone so young was already a shinobi. It showed he was a prodigy, and Sasuke could respect him for that.

Sasuke's eyes lingered on Kei's hair though. His mind kept saying 'Yuki', but another part was telling him he seen that white ponytail before. Sasuke thought harder but a fleeting image of a white head in his brothers bed passed quickly, and Sasuke ignored it. It was familiar, but it probably wasn't important.

"Wait! How can that idiot be taking the Chuunin exams? Don't you have to graduate? He's too young." The Uzumaki idiot yelled. Sasuke winced when his eardrums took a beating.

"Kei did graduate. He's a prodigy, idiot." Kiba growled at the blonde. Sasuke watched in amusement at how protective the Inuzuka was.

"I'm not an idiot you dog breath." Uzumaki yelled.

"Shut up. The fight is about the start." Sasuke told them. He received two glares but he didn't care.

Sasuke watched as the little white hair kid easily beat the kunoichi in the ground. It could be argued that she was tired, but Sasuke knew it wouldn't matter. The young Genin had an excellent teacher.

Sasuke knew he needed a friend. He refused to befriend the idiots in his class. Partly because they were stupid, and partially because he knew he already alienated then with his attitude. _'Maybe this boy would make a good friend'_ Sasuke thought as he watched the young boy casually walk out of the arena.

The rest of the fights were good, but Sasuke was too caught up in his thoughts. Rikoto from the first round had a tough fight against the sand nin. After 20 minutes, the sand nin managed to land a lucky shot and Rikoto went down. Sasuke gave the Genin credit. It was a good fight.

Kei went against the second sand nin that passed. The bigger sand nin towered over the small boy. Sasuke was impressed when Kei showed no fear at the bigger opponent. When the proctor yelled start, Sasuke felt his eyebrows shoot up.

Kei had instantly leapt back and withdrew two large tessen. Sasuke guessed they were the length of his arms. He watched in fascination as a storm of senbon descended on the sand nin.

The first round Kei had only used taijutsu. His style was graceful and smooth. It looked as if he were dancing. The kunoichi had looked clumsy in comparison.

Now Kei was using weapons. The sand nin avoided most of the senbon, but the audience could see a few sticking out of his skin. When he looked down to inspect himself, Kei threw more senbon and shuriken at the enemy. The sand nin barely managed to dodge in time.

This seemed to anger the sand nin and he rushed towards Kei. Kei didn't show any emotion as the large enemy ran towards him. Instead, he bent down further, and the rushed his opponent in turn. Sasuke had a hard time keeping up when both fighters started moving quicker than he could see.

Kei had kept his tessen out and was using them as an extended reach. He kept dodging and slashing his opponent when the opportunity arose. The sand nin got more frustrated with each new injury and threw more fury into his attacks.

Sasuke got worried when the sand nin got a lucky shot and hit Kei across the field. Out of the corner of his eye he saw most of the audience stand and lean forward to get a better view of the injured leaf shinobi. The sand nin grunted in victory before running towards the down Kei. When he got close enough, Kei instantly jumped up and brought his tessen down across the sand nin's face. The two wounds formed an 'X' on the sand nin's face.

The sand nin howled in pain before he fiercely rushed forward again. Kei jumped over the enemy's head and landed behind him. Sasuke watched in fascination as Kei kicked behind him and hit the back of the sand nin's knees. The enemy dropped to the ground. Kei threw his left tessen in the air, and as he spun around he caught it in this right hand, and used his free left hand to pull out a kunai and bring it to the sand nin's neck. Sasuke got the feeling of familiarity at the scene.

"Yield?" Kei asked.

"Yield." The sand nin responded. Kei pulled the kunai away and placed it back into his pouch before turning and lazily leaving the arena.

"Hatake Kei wins. There will be a 15 minute intermission before the final round." The announcer told the audience. Sasuke sat in his seat, trying to process the fight he had just seen.

"He was amazing..." Choji breathed out. His bag of chips had fallen to the ground at some point, Sasuke noted.

"His brother took him away for a month to prepare for this test." Kiba whispered to his friends. Even he seemed shocked at his friend's abilities.

The five boys sat in silence as they waited for the final round to start. When Kei walked into the arena yawning and holding a stick of dango, Sasuke saw Kiba smack himself in the face. "The idiot isn't worried at all. He went and got dango!" The Inuzuka growled.

Sasuke watched Kei closely. He wanted to see the face under the mask. He saw the younger boy's hand twitch and he blinked. When his eyes opened, the dango was gone and a happy looking Kei stood in the arena playing with the left over stick.

The match started and Kei stood in the middle of the field, still playing with the dango stick. The enemy seemed upset at this and made a few hand seals. Sasuke watched as a cutting edge wind jutsu headed towards Kei. The white haired boy simply jumped over the breeze and landed while twirling the stick between his fingers.

"Listen you little brat, you better start taking this fight seriously!" the enemy yelled at Kei.

Kei looked up from his toy and gave the other boy a surprised look. "Oh, did the match start?"

"Bastard! Yes it started." The other boy yelled as he sent another wind jutsu towards Kei.

"Oh you want a wind battle? Okay." Kei casually responded as he took out his tessen.

Sasuke watched on with curiosity. Kei opened to reveal two Prussian blue tessen that were larger than the ones he used in the last round. Kei tuned his body towards his opponent and started pushing the tessen together. Out, in out, in, and then finally Sasuke saw what Kei was doing. He was using the two wind forces created by the tessen to create a mini cyclone.

The opponent seemed worried when he figured out Kei's attack and quickly ran through more seals and sent a flurry of cutting wind jutu's towards Kei. Kei didn't seem worried. In fact, he looked happy.

Sasuke looked deeper and realized what was happening. The wind jutsu's from the opponent were actually aiding Kei and feeding the growing cyclone. When Sasuke could feel the wind's strength from his seat, Kei let the cyclone go. It sped across the field and hit the stunned opponent. The cyclone lifted the older boy up, spun him around quickly, before his body was thrown from the vortex and slammed into the wall. The audience heard a large crack over the wind. The opponent's body dropped to the ground, and he didn't move.

"That was boring. He only used the same attack the entire test." Kei said after the cyclone dispersed. The audience watched in silence as the young boy walked out of the arena. The quickest fight of the entire day had been the final round. No one had expected that.

"Naruto, remember that time you said you could beat Kei up? Think you still can?" Kiba asked, breaking the silence.

"Iruka-nii said to avoid him. I don't have to fight him." The blonde said, but in a quiet voice for once.

Sasuke let out a scoff at the blonde's statement. "Just admit you're scared Uzumaki."

Naruto turned around and scrunched up his face as he glared at Sasuke. Before he could responded a scared female voice interrupted.

"I-is that guy d-dead?" The boys turned and looked at the pink hair girl who asked the question. He eyes were watery as she kept them locked on the body on the field. Sasuke intently watched the sand nin's body. When he saw the rise of the chest as the medic's rushed out, he turned to the girl.

"He's still breathing." That said he stood up and left.

o.O.o

The presentation ceremony afterwards went by quickly. Kei and Rikoto were promoted. The sand nin that Kei fought in the semi-finals got promoted as well. Kei happily bounced forward and accepted the scroll and vest from the Hokage when his name was called. It wasn't until later he ran into a problem.

Kei arrived home to an apartment of cheering shinobi. Kakashi, Kotetsu, Izumo, Kurenai, Asuma, and Guy were all in attendance. Kurenai had quickly spoken up asking Kei to model his new vest. The following event caused the entire apartment to crack up, except for a pouting six year old.

The vest was too big. It was bigger than big. It went past his knees and kept sliding off his shoulders. When the 'adults' calmed down, Kurenai offered to fix it. Kei quickly took the vest off and sulked until Kakashi brought him a cake made of dango. Afterwards, the night was great.

The next day, Kei went to the Hokage's office. He slipped in the window and stood behind the old man. The rest of Team 2 stood in front of the desk waiting. Kei looked around the room before speaking.

"Hokage-sama, have you ever thought of painting your office? I think shinobi would be more eager to give reports if the walls were a nice cheery yellow. Nii-san would probably stop reading if the walls were nicer." Kei mused.

The Hokage shot him a confused look before shaking his head and muttering about mini clones.

"I have called you here to talk about your team. There has been problems and now that two of you have been promoted, I believe it's time for all three of you to be reassigned. I have thought about this and think I have mapped out the best course. First let's start with Yoshi-kun giving his opinion on all of you." The Hokage gestured for the Jounin to step forward.

"Kei is a good student. He is late every day, for everything, but that's expected. He trains the hardest, and has made the most progress since he's been in my care. In my opinion he has a bright shinobi career ahead of him." Kei beamed at the Jounin even though his cheeks were hot, and he felt the urge to look away.

"Rikoto is strong and has a great personality. He dedicates himself to every task and works until it's perfect. He shows promise in medical jutsu, and I believe he will be one of the best medic nin's in the future." Rikoto seemed to blush at the Jounin's words, but grinned in happiness.

"Akemi is the only troublesome part of the team. From the start she demonstrated dislike towards her teammates and has often brought personal issues onto missions. She does have potential to be a weapons mistress in the future. My suggestion is that she be given time to work on her attitude before being allowed to continue as a kunoichi." Akemi glared at the Jounin.

"Akemi-chan, I was most disappointed when I read the reports about you. I think it's best if you go and work at the academy for awhile. Watching and learning from the Chuunin instructors there may help." Akemi gave the Hokage a curt nod, but refused to look at anyone else in the room.

"Rikoto-kun, I think you are ready for an apprenticeship. We just need to find a medic nin willing to teach you and soon you can be a great medical shinobi. When you're instructor thinks you're ready, you will be sent on missions again. You will be switched between teams depending on mission."

"So, I just need to find a medic willing to accept me Hokage-sama?" Rikoto asked in a dazed voice. It was his dream to be a medic nin.

"Yes, I can help you find one, or you can try your luck on your own." The Hokage spoke. Kei had a sudden thought.

"You can ask Kujyo-sensei! She's really nice and a great medic. I'm sure she'll love to have you as an apprentice." Kei told the older boy.

"Really?" Rikoto seemed dazed.

"I'll introduce you. She knows the best windows to leave from." Kei explained. Rikoto gave a small laugh, while the Hokage coughed to cover his.

"Kei-kun, I have thought hard about your placement, and I believe I found the perfect spot for you."

Kei turned his attention towards the ninja leader. "Oh?"

"I think you will flourish in a partnership instead of a team. Makoto-kun, you can enter now." The Hokage yelled towards the door. Team 2 turned towards the door when it opened.

A tall boy walked into the room. Akemi let out a dreamy sigh at the sight of him. He was tall with dark blue hair that curled and flared out a bit when it touched his neck. His bangs fell infront of his eyes, but were styled in such a way you could still see the colour shining through. His eyes matched his hair with the dark blue colour, and he wore the standard blue shinobi clothes and Chuunin vest.

"Oh, I'll be his partner for missions and the bedroom." Akemi whispered. The Hokage and Kei were the only ones who heard her.

"Makoto-kun, I would like to introduce you to Kei-kun here. He will be your new Chuunin partner." The Hokage gestured towards Kei.

The older boy walked further and gave Kei an assessing look. When he stood directly in front on him, Kei noticed that the boy was really tall. Kei was staring at his stomach.

"Pleased to meet you." Makoto said as he gave a small bow. Kei returned the gesture, before hopping onto the Hokage's desk to be more level with the older boy.

"Do you think the Hokage should paint his office?" Kei asked. Makoto gave him a searching look before responding.

"Is your name short for Keitaro or something?"

"Do you like dango?"

"Will you grow taller?"

"What's your favourite number?"

"Do you have fangirls?"

"Do you think cats are evil?" They asked together. Kei's eyes lit up at the question before jumping onto Makoto's shoulders.

"Hokage-sama, I think this partnership will turn out just fine!" Kei announced from his position perched on the older boy's shoulders.

"Do you want to get pudding, Kei-chan?" Makoto asked, as he turned and started walking out of the office.

"Okay, but after we see Kujyo-sensei for Rikoto." Kei answered.

The four people left in the office stared after the pair. "Well that went better than I expected." The Hokage admitted.

"That was scary." Rikoto shuddered as he saw what Kei would be like if he was older and had blue hair.

"I wish I was a fly on the wall when Makoto meets Kakashi." Yoshi threw out. The males of the group felt a wave of pity for the unsuspecting Chuunin.

o.O.o

Kei loved his new partnership. He had taken Makoto to meet his brother straight away. Everyone in the apartment was very nice and welcoming to the Chuunin. After dinner, Kakashi had taken Makoto away for a few minutes, but both returned unharmed later. Kei didn't pay the event any mind.

The next day Kei met up with Makoto to train and get to know the Chuunin better. He discovered that Makoto was a pudding lover, hated cats, and loved pork ramen. They had a great day training. Kei was impressed with the older boy's skills. He also learned that Makoto was 16. His birthday was two days before Kei's

Kei was also introduced to something terrifying. Makoto had invited Kei over to his family's home. Makoto was from a civilian family, and was the only shinobi. His parents had three children, but the older two were already married and living on their own. Kei was happy to meet Makoto's parents and hoped they were like Tsume.

Makoto had insisted that they sneak through the civilian section of the village. Kei thought it was a game and went along with it. They managed to make it to Makoto's house and sneak inside with no problems. Kei liked Makoto's parents. They were both nice people and had instantly adored Kei.

The evening went well, and afterwards Makoto offered to walk Kei home. Once they stepped outside, they heard a shriek. Looking up, Kei saw a teenage girl standing in front of Makoto's house. Kei scrunched up his nose in confusion, before a wave of girls appeared.

"Oh no, the fangirls. Run Kei!" Makoto yelled as he grabbed the young boys arm and pulled him away. Once they got away, Kei turned scared eyes onto his partner.

"Makoto-kun what was that?" Kei asked.

"Those were my fangirls. They're a scary bunch. They chase after me, and few times I caught them sneaking into my room to steal my shirts." Makoto answered. He paused before looking at Kei. "Didn't you have fangirls? You're adorable, I'm sure that girls at the academy fawned all over you."

"I was only at the academy for a month and a half." Kei answered with a shrug. He scrunched his nose again before answering. "There were a few girls that followed me home a few times but Nii-san always came out and talked to them. I don't know what he said, but they never followed me again." Kei saw a look of understanding cross the older Chuunin's face.

"Okay, Kei-chan let's get you home." Makoto walked Kei home, and left quickly.

Kei had asked his brother about fangirls, but the only response he got was that he shouldn't worry about them. Kakashi then whispered something about his chastity. Kei waved it off and crawled into bed. His brother always knew best, so all he had to do was listen.

o.O.o

The next few months went by quickly. Kei and Makoto decided to spend the first few months training and getting used to the other. They took a few D-rank missions for some money, and after the second month, extended to C-rank missions.

Makoto seemed wary to leave Fire Country, and Kei decided to respect his reservations. They mainly took escort missions for caravans travelling through Fire Country, or errands to neighbouring post towns.

The last few months before their birthdays, they steadily gained more and more knowledge at escaping and concealment. When Makoto's fangirls saw his new partner, his club had doubled. Apparently, they thought the combination too cute to resist. They had taken to stalking the boys across the village.

Kei had taken Makoto to hide in Anko's office a few times, but the T & I kunoichi liked to stick a little too close to Makoto for the Chuunin's comfort. So they fled more often than not. Their infiltration skills also improved when they started breaking into buildings to hide.

They avoided angering any tenants and hid quite well until the current fangirl wave disappeared. Both of them were getting twitchy with the constant affection attacks from the girls. It didn't help that the other chuunin's would laugh at them. They were being called, 'The Pretty Pair'.

When their birthdays rolled around, they were ready to take a long mission away from the village. After Kei's birthday, the pair decided to march into the mission's office and demand a long mission outside the village. Preferably something, that didn't involve females.

* * *

Back to good ole Parrot Post (who turned out to leave my 500th review) I decided to give a reward. Another omake. They decided they wanted to see Kurenai and Haku meet.

**OMAKE**

Kurenai sighed as he traveled home. She loved dressing Kei up, but Kakashi always stopped her. She really didn't like that lazy pervert on those days. Kei was just too cute not to dress up.

As she jumped to branch to branch, she heard the sound of a stick breaking and stopped. Looking down she saw a small boy, with black hair and slightly baggy clothes, kneeling down and picking herbs.

Gently falling to the ground, she silently walked up to the boy and watched. Kurenai was surprised than when he turned to her, he was actually pretty adorable. He looked a few years older than Kei, but Kurenai was never good at accurately guessing ages.

"Hello little one, what are you doing out here by yourself?" Kurenai asked.

"My brother was hurt hunting so I went to gather some healing herbs for him." The boy responded with a soft voice.

Kurenai wanted to hug the cute boy, but didn't think he would appreciate it. She looked to her bag, where she knew a pink floral kimono was sitting inside. She bought it for Kei, and since it was big, she figured she would have a few years to convince Kakashi to let her dress Kei in it. But not seeing the state of distress the boy's clothes were in front of her, and how cute he was, she made a quick decision and pulled it out. She bought the matching blue one just in case Kakashi burned the pink one.

"Here, I have a gift for you." She said as he held out the Kimono.

"W-why?" the boy asked as he stared at fabric in her hands with large eyes. A hint of disbelief and wonder in his voice.

"Because a cutie like you, should have clothes that match your face." Kurenai smiled and handed the kimono over. The boy continued to stare at her. When she started to feel uncomfortable she took her cue to leave, but before she would turn away the boy stopped her by grabbing her hand.

"Here as a thank you." the boy held up a flower made of ice.

"Thank you. I'm Kurenai by the way." She introduced as she took the beautiful flower.

"Haku."

"Well nice meeting you Haku." Kurenai called as she jumped back into the tree's. The rest of her trip home was lovely as she couldn't stop grinning thinking of the new boy she dressed up. Good deeds felt great.

* * *

So Kimono won.

The last few questions have had staggering wins. Seems a tad bit biased, so when Rilili asked me a question... instead of answering, I'm posing it to you.

Who would win: Kei or Chuck Norris?

I hope you enjoyed your special New Year's treat of an extra long chapter.


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer**: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

**Warnings**: _Language, OC'ness, Het, Slash, underage, fluff, smut, and abuse to the author, Loss of Kei's cuteness._

_Beta: Kyuubi no Goddess_

**Scary Shinobi**

Kei was on an important mission. He stayed hidden behind a bush, as he watched his partner peek around the corner ahead of him. They had been sneaking around for an hour now, and were close to their target. Just a few more feet and they would be safe. The only thing standing in their way to safety, were a few streets and civilians. They couldn't be seen.

Kei tensed when Makoto signalled that the coast was clear. Kei leaned back on his legs, and in a blink of an eye ran. He prepared himself as he got closer to Makoto. He watched as the older boys back tensed just as Kei's placed his hands on the middle. Putting his strength into his arms, Kei pushed off and over Makoto's head.

Curling his body in, he rolled his body just before impact, and stopped in perfect position behind a fence. Kei was instantly back on his feet and searching for any undesirables around, which could have seen him. Turning his back to his partner, Kei did another inspection before signalling Makoto.

Kei held firm when he felt his partner's hands on his shoulders before the older boys body was flying over his head. Kei instantly dropped to a crouched ready position, once the hands were off his shoulders. He carefully guarded the rear position while keeping an eye on Makoto. They had one last street to cross. One little hurdle until they were free.

Kei heard a door opening just as Makoto signalled the clear. Kei sprinted, jumped off his partners back, through the newly opened door, and landed. He held the door until a blue and green blur passed him, and he quickly slammed it shut. Seeing the entryway clear, the partners slumped in relief. They safely made it to the mission's office without being seen by fangirls- Mission Successful.

Kei happily strolled down the hall and into the mission's office, before he heard her voice.

"Well if it isn't cute and cuter." Kei felt his eye twitch as he looked over at the girl who was cooing at him.

Her name was Megumi or something. She was from the same year as Makoto and was on a three-person Chuunin team. They had run into her a few times while training and she seemed to take delight in pointing out their physical features. Kei didn't understand it, but he was pretty sure she started the 'Pretty Pair' label.

"I saw them playing leap frog all the way here." One of Megumi's teammates whispered.

"Hello Megumi-chan." Makoto greeted before ignoring the girl's partner. "Kei, I bet I'm cuter."

"Makoto, everyone knows that the youngest is the cutest." Kei argued as he turned away from Megumi and her team.

"But no one can see your face, how can you be cuter." Makoto countered as he pouted.

"Yeah, but you're 17! That's old. Old people aren't cute." Kei heard spluttering from everywhere in the room but decided to ignore it, and focus on his very serious argument.

"I'm not old. I could very well be cute if I wanted to be." Makoto put a hand over his heart in hurt.

"But that doesn't stop me from being a cute kid." Kei triumphantly pointed out.

"Kids can be ugly."

"Are you calling me ugly Makoto-san?" Kei felt his eyes watering.

"No, no, no. How about we both just be cute. No one is cuter than the other. Okay?" Makoto reasoned.

"I guess that could work. But shouldn't we be more scary if we're shinobi?" Kei asked while he clutched Makoto's pant leg and cuddled into the older boys side. Before they could continue their act, Megumi broke in.

"You two will never be scary. You have one member completely adorable and the other able to wet any girl's legs. Give Kei a few more years, get rid of the mask and you could be a decent seduction team, but you won't ever have the enemy nin tremble in fear at the sight of you or the sound of your names."

"Makoto..." Kei said as he tugged on his partner's pants leg.

"Hmmm?"

"Why does Megumi want us to clean bedrooms when were older? And why would I need to remove my mask to clean?" Kei asked. Kei looked around the room to see the looks of disbelief on the other shinobi's faces, as they stared of him. He quickly redirected his eyes to his partner.

"Well Kei..." Makoto coughed to cover the amused lilt in his voice. "I think it would be better if you asked Kakashi why Megumi-chan here thinks you would work best on a seduction team. I think he would be more than happy to track down Megumi-chan so the pair of them can explain it to you better." Makoto gave the suddenly pale kunoichi a kind smile as he spoke.

One of Megumi's teammates broke the silence that developed while the shinobi in the room continued to stare at the pair. "Kid you can't tell me you don't even know what sex is?"

"I know what sex is." Kei whispered, as his eyes got wide. He stepped behind Makoto to have the bigger boy physically between himself and the other boy.

"Ryuichi..." Makoto hissed.

"What? The kid is an adult by shinobi laws. He must know what sex is." Ryuichi announced.

"I already said I know what it is, so stop talking about it." Kei whispered loudly. The room seemed less tense, now that they knew that Kei at least knew what sex was.

"Aww, the cutie knows what sex is. Hey Kei-chan, if you want I can take you home and show you all the secrets to sex." Megumi winked at him.

Kei paled at her words. "Megumi are you a slut?" Kei whispered the last word but everyone heard it. After all, no one else was talking since they were all focused on the group in the middle. Even the Hokage was interested.

"What? Why would I be a slut?" Megumi screamed.

"Nii-san says that shinobi who like to engage in sex a lot or like to talk about it and invite others are sluts. It's what all the most evil torturers are called." Kei whispered fearfully. No one could argue his statement, so they stayed quiet.

"It's a natural thing to do!" Megumi defended herself.

"Sex is the worst torturing technique in history. I don't know why anyone would want to do that. It's absolutely terrible. Nii-san told me that the best shinobi even go insane from sex." Kei hid himself even further behind Makoto, not wanting to get too close to Megumi. "I don't know what I did to be mean to you, but please don't use sex on me Megumi-san."

Most of the shinobi in the room wanted to either; hit their head against something, laugh, or educate the poor boy. It was too bizarre what Kakashi taught his younger brother. Megumi seemed the most disturbed.

"Kei-chan, trust me that's not what-"she began as she walked towards the youngest Chuunin.

"Don't come any closer!" Kei screamed. "Nii-san save me!" The young boy screamed as he ran towards the door. Before he reached it, the door slid open to reveal a happy looking Kakashi. Kei didn't waste any time leaping through the air and attaching himself to his brothers neck.

"Nii-san! Save me. Megumi-san said she wanted to take me to her house and show me sex." Kei cried before he buried his face into Kakashi's neck. "I promise I was good. I promise. I promise." He muttered as he clutched his brother tighter.

"Oh? And who is this Megumi?" Kakashi asked as his eye swept the missions room. It landed on the pale and shaking kunoichi.

"I-I umm... I mean, t-that's me." Megumi stuttered under the intense stare of the Jounin.

"Was Kei bad in any way Megumi-_chan_?" The room seemed to drop in temperature at the last word.

"N-no..."

"See Kei. You were a perfectly good boy. You don't have to worry about Megumi using that terrible torture against you. Makoto-kun can you take Kei home? Megumi-chan and I still have a few things to discuss." Kakashi smiled at the blue-haired boy as he slowly detached Kei from his neck.

"Of course Kakashi-sama." Makoto took Kei and quickly left the room wondering if he would ever see Megumi again.

Once Kakashi saw that they were gone, he turned back to the frightened kunoichi. "Oh Megumi-chan, I hope you're a quick learner." Kakashi gave the girl another happy look, but no one was fooled. All noted the killing intent that was close to becoming solid enough to strangle the girl.

The Hokage briefly considered stepping in, but decided it was best for all them see why you don't do anything to Kakashi's innocent little brother. He remembered what happened when he put Kei in the academy. This kunoichi made advances towards Kei, which was an even worse crime in Kakashi's eyes.

He wondered if he should start searching for a replacement for her team, or at least put a sign on the door to the missions room, while Kakashi explained to everyone to stay away from Kei's innocence. As the Hokage watched the Jounin advance on the kunoichi, he knew it didn't matter. This incident would be told all over the village by nightfall.

o.O.o

Kei sighed as he stared at the people in front of him. The day after the Megumi incident, the Hokage had summoned the pair, and gave them a mission to sand. Kei was excited that he finally got another mission out of Fire Nation, but also a little annoyed. They ran into their third group of bandits and once again the bandits were laughing and cracking jokes about the Chuunin's. One thing that Megumi had right, was the no one seemed to take them seriously.

"I bet the little one just got out of diapers."

"Careful not to mess up the blue haired ones hair when we rob them. Don't want his fans to cry."

The four men in front of them started laughing all over again. Kei felt his eye twitching. He may be small but he had something that could scare them. While on his off months training with Makoto he got his second ninken summons, and now seemed like a great time to test it. Kei took out his summoning scroll, nicked his finger, and while the bandits continued to laugh, summoned Taka.

The puff of smoke gained the bandits attention. When it cleared the biggest mountain dog they had ever seen was in front of them. Taka had black, white, and brown fur. Was as tall as Makoto when sitting, and had given Kiba a big scare the morning after he arrived. Kei was small but he had a big summons.

"Taka attack." Kei calmly commanded. While Taka tore into the four bandits, Kei turned to Makoto and pouted. "Makoto we really need to do something about our image."

"I know... This is why none of my former teams wanted me. They said that my appearance made them less intimidating to enemies so we got attacked more. Could we ask Kurenai for some clothing advice?" Makoto asked while watching the carnage in front of him.

"I tried, but she put puppy ears on me until Nii-san got home and burned them."

"We could find someone in Sand, maybe?"

"Like find someone scary and follow them?"

"It's called Information Gathering."

o.O.o

The pair walked down the streets in Suna and kept an eye out for anyone scary. They were determined to change their image. Makoto just pointed out an old Jounin, when Kei saw something he needed.

"Makoto look!" Kei pointed into a shop window. Inside were two large black tessen with red edging. "Can we please go inside and look at them?"

"Sure." Makoto placed a hand on Kei's shoulder and gave him a light push towards the door.

Kei happily skipped into the shop and asked the keeper if he could see the tessen. The man gave him a sceptical look before bringing both fans down from the wall. The keeper stood one up from the ground and Kei noted that the tessen was about a head taller than he was.

"Too bad Kei-chan. Rule 12 says no weapons bigger than you." Makoto said as he patted the younger Chuunin's head. "You will just have to wait until you're taller."

"Fine..." Kei grumbled as he left the shop. As he stepped out, he got the feeling of being watched. Subtly looking around, he didn't see anyone hiding.

"Everything okay Kei?" Makoto asked as he waited behind the little Chuunin.

"Thought someone was watching us. Be alert." Kei warned as he stepped onto the street.

"We'll be careful. Let's return to our room."

When they started walking, Kei was slammed into the wall by a wave of sand. A mini sand storm later and a red headed child stood in front of them. He looked to be a few years older than Kei, had black lined eyes, and a blank expression.

"What are you doing here?" The red head growled at Kei. Kei was still dazed from the Sand Slam, and could only stare at the boy with cloudy eyes.

"Answer me." The boy growled again. Kei felt the sand creeping up his neck and starting to strangle him for his silence. He let out a whimper that spurred Makoto into action.

"Let him go. He didn't do anything." Makoto demanded as he stepped forward. His efforts produced a large hand formed of sand that slammed him into the wall next to Kei.

"Why are you here?" The boy asked while calmly standing in front of the trapped pair.

"Mission." Makoto answered. Kei wished that the sand putting pressure on his throat would stop, or at least let up a bit so he didn't have to struggle so hard to breathe.

"What mission?" The boy demanded.

"A civilian woman in our village hired us to retrieve her grandson. Her son was part of a traveling caravan that was attacked. Her son was killed, so she wants her grandson to live with her. Their caravan arrives here tomorrow and we're supposed to find the boy and bring him back to our village." Makoto said in a monotone voice. Neither thought it would be a good idea to anger the boy in front of them in any way.

Kei felt the sand around his neck loosening, and he happily let air return to his lungs. Slowly the sand retreated and both boys were free. The three of them stood on the street staring at each other, until a ball hitting Kei's foot broke the stillness. Looking around, Kei realized for the first time that the street had cleared. Even the shop behind him had put up a closed sign.

"Huh, things close early around here." Kei pointed out.

"Leave." The red headed boy commanded. Kei and Makoto only nodded in response before turning to leave.

Kei's first step accidentally kicked the abandoned ball. He watched as it flew through the air and hit a stall, sending it back. Makoto jumped in the air and caught it. When he landed, he lightly tossed it to Kei, who in response head butted it back to Makoto. Makoto caught the ball on his chest, let it roll down, bumped it with his knee, and the kicked it out of the small arc it made. The ball flew through the air towards the red headed boy. The boy caught the ball in both his hands and stared at the pair. Kei got impatient with the staring and silence and broke it.

"You're supposed to throw it back, that's how the game is played." Kei explained, having already forgotten the whole strangling bit.

"Play?" The red head asked.

"Yup, now throw it to Makoto." Kei pointed towards his partner. The red head's expression didn't change, but he did throw the ball to Makoto.

Makoto jumped again and kicked the ball in the air so it was flying towards Kei. Kei jumped as well and punched the ball towards the red head. The red head caught it in both hands again, studied the ball, and then threw it towards Kei.

Kei cheered and jumped in the air again but added a flip before kicking back towards the red head. As Kei fell, Makoto caught him before throwing him up to receive the red heads throw. Kei punched the ball towards Makoto before yelling. "Let's see if we can keep the ball from touching the ground while we make our way to the park."

Makoto caught the ball and threw it towards the red head. The red head kicked the ball, and it soared through the air in a high arc. Kei ran and launched off Makoto's shoulders to get more height, as he reached the ball he spiked it down to his partner.

As Kei descended, he looked down and realized he was about to land on a vegetable stand. Tucking himself in for the impact, he was quite surprised when something wrapped around him and cradled him, preventing his crash. Opening his eyes, he noted he was in a cocoon of sand. He watched as some of the sand fell away to make a window in the side. Half climbing out he saw that he was still a good distance from the ground. The red head was looking at him with slightly larger eyes, and Makoto had a worried expression on his face.

"Thanks for the save... um I'm sorry I don't know your name. I'm Kei." He said as he twisted his body to face the red head more.

"Gaara."

"Nice to meet you Gaara-kun, that's my partner Makoto. Um... could you let me down so we can keep playing?" Kei asked. He liked their new friend. Kei happily jumped out of the sand cocoon when he was closer to the ground and cheered.

"Yeah to the park!" he started walking when Makoto stopped him.

"Kei-chan, the park is the other way."

"Right, to the park!" Kei cheered as he grabbed Gaara's hand and started pulling him along.

"You want to play with me?" Gaara asked.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I?" Kei gave the red head a weird look.

"I hurt you."

"Oh I forgot about that... Oh well, let's go play." Kei continued to pull the boy along.

Makoto quietly followed along, carrying the ball, and smiling softly at them.

"So Gaara-kun, do you know where they sell the best dango here?"

o.O.o

Kei was a little sad that he was leaving Suna. The caravan had been delayed two days, so they got two extra days to play with Gaara. Kei had enjoyed it the entire time. The only thing he didn't like, besides the lack of dango stands, was Gaara's guardian. The happy man just seemed off to Kei.

Kei had already committed Gaara's scent to memory. He smelled like desert heat, vanilla and lavender. It was a very soothing scent. When he told the red head this, he got a weird look in return, before the other boy turned away from him.

Now Kei, Makoto, and the grandson were signing out at the gate to Suna. Kei was eager to get to the Leaf village. The grandson was 13 and very annoying. He complained about everything, and Kei didn't look forward to the long journey home.

"Kei-chan." Looking up Kei smiled when he saw his red headed friend standing before him.

"Gaara-kun, did you come to say good bye."

"Yes. I also have this for you." Gaara handed Makoto a red and black scroll. "I think it will help with your problem." Was the only explanation he gave.

"Thanks Gaara-kun." Makoto said while giving the young boy a soft smile.

"When you come to Konoha, make sure you come visit us." Kei commanded the boy, before jumping on him and giving him a quick hug.

"I will."

"We look forward to it Gaara-kun, but we must be off. Let's go Kei-chan." Makoto ordered. Kei gave a small wave to his friend before taking off.

When they were a good distance from Suna, Kei turned towards his partner. "Makoto what's in the scroll?"

"Let's look," Makoto opened the scroll and smiled. "Yes I do think this will help. Gaara gave us 'Seven Sadistically Satisfying Slaughtering Skills'."

The grandson they were escorting gave a small 'eep' but they both ignored him.

"Oh, so that will make us scarier right?" Kei asked as he jumped on his partners back to read the scroll.

"It will do that and more Kei, that and more."

* * *

o.O.o.O.o

-runewizard wanted to see an omake about the Lovegoods in the elemental nations. So this is what he/she/they(?) get.

OMAKE

Xenophilius Lovegood, his wife, and their six-year-old daughter, happily skipped through the mountains in the Iwa nation when they stumbled upon a campsite of a large man. He had a large sword, was half naked and had bandages over his mouth. Xeno was the first to speak.

"Oh this is perfect, Look honey we found a babysitter for Luna while we go check the caves for Dithering Rock Monkeys."

"That's wonderful darling." His wife exclaimed as she walked their daughter Luna over to the large man. "This is Luna, she's pretty well behaved. We'll be back soon." She said before turning and quickly walking off with her husband.

When the pair was out of sight, the large man looked down at the little blonde girl who was now playing with some small rocks.

"Haku!" He yelled. A boy with medium length hair emerged from the tent. He wore a pink floral kimono and a curious expression.

"Zabuza-san?" Haku looked at the blonde girl with a bemused expression.

Zabuza glared at the boy. He was wearing the damned kimono again. He personally wanted to burn it and find the woman who gave it to the boy and kill her, but the boy was just too damned attached to the thing. "Watch her. I'm going to go to sleep." He commanded before pulling the boy out of his way and going into the tent.

Haku shrugged his shoulders and sat beside the little girl, and watched her play. After ten minutes, the girl looked up and smiled at him.

"You're a very pretty boy. I think you would look nice if you tied your hair up." The blonde continued by standing up and using two sticks to pin Haku's hair up. "Much better." Then she sat back down and continued playing with rocks. Haku only smiled and thought that at the next town he should buy some hair pins.

* * *

So last time I tallied the votes which was last night it stood at:

Kakashi-1, No Fight-2, End of the World-2, Fangirls-1, Chuck Norris-9, Kei- 21

I think Kei beat Chuck this time I decided on a really controversial question to mix up the votes.

'Kakashi walked into the store and looked at the ice cream, "Hmm would Kei like Chocolate or Vanilla?"'

That's right the age old question of chocolate or vanilla.


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

Warnings: _Language, OC'ness, Het, Slash, underage, fluff, smut, and abuse to the author, Loss of Kei's cuteness._

_Beta: Kyuubi no Goddess_

**Stranger Danger**

Kakashi woke up with a bad feeling. It was a feeling in unease that he couldn't pinpoint. The only thing he knew for certain was that it involved Kei. Looking down at his little brother, he couldn't hold back a fond smile. Kei was curled around his torso, and breathing softly onto his chest. His mask was down and Kakashi had a prefect view of his sleeping face.

Kei had always been a cute kid, and it was only amplified at the moment that he was losing his baby teeth. Kakashi had a good laugh when Kei's front teeth had fallen out, but currently he had one missing canine and the other was still growing in. The new canine was sharper, and through the nights, it had left multiple scratches on Kakashi's chest, but he didn't mind. They never woke him.

Kakashi saw Kei's right hand twitching, and brought the blanket up to warm him up. Kakashi let out a small sigh and was considering going back to sleep when he heard the telltale noise of one his traps going off outside the window. Kakashi had always made sure the window was trapped at night when he went to sleep. He didn't want to risk Kei's safety in any way.

When the second trap went off, Kakashi tightened his hold on Kei and flipped them, so Kei was hidden under him. He felt Kei's tense as he woke up and quickly recognized the dangerous situation. They each reached out and grabbed various weapons they had hidden around the bed. Kakashi felt as small hands reached up and replaced his mask. Once the small hands retreated, he reached down and replaced Kei's mask.

The pair stayed in their position until the window opened and two people carefully climbed in. They kept their breathing steady and stayed still. Kei's breathing had already fallen into the same pattern, as Kakashi's to give the appearance of one person in the room. With Kakashi covering him, it would be hard to spot the second body.

"You sure the kid is in here?" Kei felt Kakashi tense slightly at those words.

"Yeah, looks like he's still asleep. Let's do this and go." The second person said. The two intruders took a step towards the bed, and Kei and Kakashi jumped into action.

Kakashi leapt over the intruders head and closed the window, while Kei flipped to his feet and kept himself firmly planted between the intruders and the door. He spiked his chakra to wake up and warn Izumo and Kotetsu, and settled into a defensive position.

"Shit, they said only the little one would be here." The first voice spoke.

"Whatever kill'em both." The second commanded.

Kakashi watched as the first person dived at Kei but smirked when he saw Kei's trench knives light up and spark, while the glowing green eyes narrowed. Trusting Kei to be okay, Kakashi attacked the second man. Kakashi had to hold in a laugh when he heard the first man swearing profusely in the other side of the room. He clearly underestimated Kei, and was suffering for it.

When Kotetsu and Izumo finally burst into the room to help, Kei and Kakashi already had both men tied up and sitting in a corner.

"Lovely, you finally decided to join us." Kakashi waved him his position leaning against the wall.

"Hehehe well we-" Izumo began.

"Whatever, one of you, turn on the lights, the other go get Ibiki." Kakashi demanded.

Kotetsu instantly went for the lights, while Izumo left to get the interrogator that lived around the corner. Kakashi watched as Kei gave a big yawn and wrapped the blanket around himself. Kakashi didn't stop himself back from walking over and wrapping his arms around the young boy. He was only seven, it wasn't fair to already have people out to kill you. Kakashi let out a hum of contentment when Kei opened the blanket and wrapped his small arms around his hips, partially covering him in the blanket as well.

Ibiki arrived quickly, and didn't look happy at all. "What the hell happened?" He demanded as soon as he entered the room.

"Oh, Hello Ibiki-san. Well we were sleeping peacefully, when these two broke into our room and attempted to murder Kei." Kakashi growled as he sent waves of K.I towards the would be assassins.

"There's only a few things worse than trying to kill a child. I think I'll call Anko in to help me with these two. She has a soft spot for Kei-chan, and I think she would like some way to vent her anger." Kakashi suppressed a shudder at the shark like grin full of anticipation that Ibiki gave the two intruders.

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah I should everything out of them by tomorrow lunch." Ibiki didn't wait around as he easily lifted both intruders and left the room.

Kakashi tightened his hold on Kei and looked down to find the little Chuunin sleeping against his hip. He smiled fondly at him, before lifting him and placing him back in the bed. Izumo lowered the lights, while Kotetsu went outside to re-assemble the traps. Kakashi made sure to have an extra tight grip on Kei before he went back to sleep.

o.O.o

At lunch, Kakashi sat beside Kei and across from Ibiki. Makoto was placed on Kei's other side, while Kotetsu and Izumo were placed at a table near the entrance. He even had Kurenai follow the woman who made Kei's dango, and had it tested before it was brought to Kei. He wouldn't overlook anything if it was for Kei's safety.

When morning had come, Izumo had left instantly to get Makoto. The entire situation was explained to him, and they had agreed to never leave Kei alone until this situation was resolved. Thus how they ended up at cafe that Kei rarely went to, and sitting across from Ibiki.

"They were pretty quiet for the first few hours until Anko came running in with hissing snakes, and bloody kunai. She apparently needed to cool down a little before arriving and left a few injured ANBU along the way. She descended on them and hissed a few things in their ears, and they turned into trembling cry babies, spilling everything. Fastest I have ever seen her crack somebody.

They were two rogue nins who recently left the Rock village. They were going through a bingo book and found your picture. The price on you head is pretty big. They did a little research and news of your little brother has been making its way around the hidden nations, so they decided to take him out first.

They thought if they killed Kei, when you learned of his death, you would be distraught enough to let your guard down enough for them to kill you. Or at least be more open to dying. They bribed a mission room worker and found out that you were still out on a mission, and then sweet-talked a few people to find your apartment. When night came, they snuck in and the rest you know.

The goal was never Kei, he was just a stepping stone. Maybe your inability to report in the day you return is a good thing. They were working alone, and independently, so there's no big shot waiting for them to report in." Ibiki reported.

"Good." Kakashi wrapped an arm around Kei and brought him closer. The two last night were probably right. He didn't know if he would have the drive to continue if someone murdered Kei. He did know that he couldn't keep Kei wrapped up and constantly watched. Kei needed to walk his chosen path, and all Kakashi could do, is help train him to help his chances of surviving.

"Kei, Makoto-kun let's go. I think I'll help you train for the rest of the week." Kakashi ushered the pair out of the cafe and quickly thought over everything he could show them.

o.O.o

When it came time to meet Itachi again, Makoto was briefed on the situation. He was only told that Kei was to meet an informant, when and where, and that he was to stay at the campsite. Makoto had quickly accepted the situation and the pair set out.

The initial meeting between Kei and Itachi went along the same lines as before. The only difference being that Kei lasted a bit longer in the fight. But in the end he ended up on his stomach, Itachi sitting on his back, and both his arms pinned behind him.

"I win again, I wonder what I should claim this time..." Itachi continued to sit on Kei and ponder.

"Itachi, please at least let me sit up." Kei begged.

"Fine, fine. Do you have any riceballs on you?" Itachi asked while he stood up.

"No, I left all the food with Makoto."

"Who's Makoto?"

Kei start telling Itachi everything that had happened since they last met. He skipped over the Yuki event though. He reported that Sasuke seemed to be doing fine, and had recently looked happier. He told Itachi all about Makoto and the missions they did together. He talked about the fangirls and how terrible they were- which prompted a laugh from Itachi. He even told Itachi about the assassination attempt.

When he finished he even pulled out Itachi's old shirt and gave it back to him. Itachi looked amused but he quickly replaced the old shirt with the one he was wearing, and handed it over to Kei.

"I have a partner now too." Itachi said.

"Really?"

"Yes. His name is Kisame. He is currently in one of the nearby villages. He doesn't expect me back until the morning. He's a missing nin from the Mist village." Itachi explained.

"Mist... Itachi do you think you could ask him a question for me?"

"Well I could ask, but I don't think I would tell him it's for a friend from the leaf village." Itachi said while giving Kei and amused look.

"Well I know that. Just could you ask him if he knows about a jutsu that pools black chakra in their hand?" Kei asked.

"Is that they same jutsu you were hit with before?" Itachi enquired.

"Yeah, I just wanted to know what it was meant to do."

"I'll look into it. But now it is time to claim my prize." Itachi turned so he was sitting facing Kei directly. "In all the years I have known you, I have never seen the face under the mask. Can I see your real face?" He asked.

Kei looked at his friend and stared. The only people who had seen his face after he was three was Kakashi, and Sasuke. Except Sasuke didn't know Kei's true identity. He had never even shown Kiba. It just seemed like something he should keep for Kakashi and Kakashi alone, but this was Itachi- one of his best friends. Someone he was rarely allowed to see, but Kei trusted him almost as much as he trusted Kakashi. Slowly Kei reached up and lowered his mask.

Itachi had felt extremely happy and honoured when he spotted Kei lowering his mask, but was blown away when he finally saw his friends face. He, like everyone else who had ever seen Kei or Kakashi, was curious about what was under the mask Kei always gave off an adorable aura, but seeing his face only cemented the claim.

Itachi had to admit that Kei was cuter than Sasuke at that age. He took in the uneven canine teeth that were growing in, the slightly larger bottom lip, and the cute little nose. His cheeks were still slightly flushed from their fight prior and his bright green cat eyes were watching him uncertainly. He had always wondered about the eyes, but never asked. All families had their secrets. He raised one hand and cupped the side of Kei's face, and brushed his thumb across the soft cheek before speaking.

"I honestly thought you and Kakashi were somehow deformed under your masks. You're actually kind of cute." Itachi had to quickly dodge a punch as Kei retaliated to his statement. When he looked back the mask was back in place, and Kei was slightly glaring at him.

"I'm a shinobi, I'm not cute, I'm scary." Kei lightly bit out.

"You're terrifying Kei-chan- terrifyingly cute." This time Itachi had to dodge the kick aimed at his face. "Tsk tsk, keep that up and I won't give you your present." Itachi taunted. The attacks stopped instantly and instead he had a happy little Chuunin attached to his arm.

"What did you get me?" Kei asked.

"Well I was passing through a town a while back and saw the cutest little puppy admiring something in a shop window. When I took a look I thought it would be perfect for you." Itachi explained as he detached himself from the happy seven year-old, and made his way to a tree. He slowly pulled out two large tessen he had hidden before.

The tessen were the same as the ones Kei has seen in Suna. The only difference was instead of the red edging, it had been replaced with that same prussian blue that Itachi always made his gifts. Itachi stood the tessen near Kei and frowned.

"I thought you would have grown a little since Suna." His frowned increased when he noted that the tessen were still at least a head taller than Kei.

"I did grow, just not a lot. Does this mean I can't have them?" Kei turned towards Itachi as he hesitantly spoke.

"No you can still have them, just wait until you're bigger to train with them." Itachi still seemed upset about something, so Kei gave his friend a hug.

"Don't frown like that, or you'll get wrinkles." Kei pointed out.

Itachi laughed and gave the little Chuunin a smile. "Here," he took out two scrolls. "The red one is for the Hokage, and the blue one is your new training schedule from me."

Kei took the scrolls and summoned his ninken. He tied the report to Ranmaru, and the strapped the tessen to Taka. He even left Itachi's shirt with Taka, before sending them back.

"I think it's time to go. I bet your partner is worried sick about you." Itachi gave Kei one last hug, before disappearing into the tree's.

o.O.o

The months after meeting Itachi had been quiet. No assassinations, no dangerous missions, and no fun. That's why Kei decided to visit Sasuke. This time as Yuki. He wanted to actually talk to the boy instead of observing. He needed to talk to him, to see how he thought, and the only way to do that was to be Yuki.

Kurenai had recently managed to get him into another white kimono. This one had pink cherry blossoms around the bottom though. The Obi was pink and yellow, as well, but Kei figured that with the white powder it could be over looked. Plus, spirit needed colour some time. The obi caused problems again, but Kei tied it the same way he had last time. The only issue was the powder.

The evil white powder of doom stood in the corner laughing at him, as he slowly stalked forward. Kei could practically hear it taunting him, as he opened the lid and took out the puff. Taking a deep breath and gathering his courage, Kei quickly beat the puff three times and dropped it. He inspected himself in the mirror and was happy to find himself covered- Kei-1, Powder-0.

Kei happily skipped out of the abandoned house, and over to Sasuke's training ground. He settled on the rock and watched as Sasuke worked his way through a taijutsu series. His form was better, and his balance almost perfect, the only thing he needed to work on was speed. Sasuke soon noticed his presence, and had quickly sat beside him.

They talked for a while, and Kei learned everything he ended to know. Sasuke was no longer focussed solely on revenge. He had decided that bringing honour and respect back to his clan name was more important and later rebuilding it. Kei was happy with the results of the talk prior. The only interesting thing came at the end of the visit. Kei was preparing to leave when Sasuke made a request.

"Yuki-chan, can I ask you for a favour?" Sasuke's eyes were filled with hope and a little fear. Intrigued Yuki sat down again and gave the boy his full attention.

"What would you like?" Kei asked.

"Can I have a kiss?" Kei was honestly surprised at the question. He had only ever kissed Kakashi and that was on the cheek before bed. Kakashi would give him a kiss on the forehead sometimes too.

Kei didn't see a problem with it and agreed. He leaned over and placed a small kiss on Sasuke's cheek. When he pulled away, he was confused to see the disappointment in Sasuke's eyes. Did he do it wrong?

"What's wrong Sasuke-kun? Did I do it wrong?" He asked.

"No, just umm... could you close your eyes?" Sasuke asked. Kei tilted his head in confusion but agreed and closed his eyes. He felt the older boy getting closer but stayed still. He was curious to what the boy was going to do.

Kei's eyes snapped open in surprise when he felt the other boy's lips on his own. When Sasuke pulled away the older boys eyes were filled with nothing but happiness. "I've never been kissed there before." Kei whispered as he raised a hand to touch his lips. This only seemed to make Sasuke happier before he started blushing.

"Sorry, I just really wanted to kiss you like that." Sasuke looked away to try and hide his red face.

"Oh."

"I'm sorry if you didn't like it." Sasuke quickly apologized.

"It's not that, it's just new." Kei explained. He had never been kissed on the lips before. He was really wondering what It meant. Was it a sign of friendship or something like that? Should he kiss Itachi and Kiba on the lips, so they know their friend's. Maybe he shouldn't, since they had been friends so long, they wouldn't need something like that to know that they meant a lot to Kei. Kei decided to ask Kakashi later.

"Yuki-chan, I really like you. I've never felt this way about a girl before." Sasuke broke through Kei's thoughts.

"I really like you too." Kei responded and gave Sasuke a bright smile. Sasuke seemed to instantly cheer up and go into a daze. Kei felt bad for Sasuke. Sasuke had just told him that Yuki was his only friend. It was surprising to Kei that this was the first time Sasuke felt friendship towards someone.

"Yuki-chan, will you visit more?" Sasuke asked.

"Of course. But I need to go now. I'll come back soon." Kei stood and was about to walk away but the slightly sad expression on Sasuke's face made him pause. Thinking quickly Kei bent down and pressed a light kiss to Sasuke's lips before taking off. He felt proud of himself for making Sasuke happy with one action.

Kei changed and was making his way home, thinking about what kissing on the lips meant, when he was suddenly pulled into an alley way. Looking at his kidnapper, he was surprised to see Danzo.

"Hello Ganzo-san." Kei chirped.

"It's Danzo. I'll ignore that since I have a proposition for you." The elder began.

"Oh?" Kei didn't like the man, but he would listen until he found the perfect time to escape.

"You're a good shinobi. I was impressed with your performance at the Chuunin exam's and I wanted you then. The whole recent assassination situation, only cemented my idea to approach you. It was a sign that you are already feared, and I think you would be perfect for my group."

"What group?" Kei was honestly curious about it.

"It's a little organization called ROOT. It trains the best. The shinobi in ROOT are more elite than the ANBU. I think you would be perfect. I like training them young, and you are around the ideal age."

Kei never liked Danzo. Ever since learning that he made Itachi leave, Kei had avoided the man. He didn't trust him and the whole ROOT thing sounded fishy. He didn't need to think about his choice before answering. "I'm sorry Dango-san, but I won't join your club."

Kei turned to leave but Danzo's bandaged hand whipped out and pulled his back, ripping his shirt. The other hand squeezed the opposite shoulder hard, as the elder bent down and harshly whispered into his ear.

"You don't really get a choice in the matter. I chose you, and you are coming to me."

Kei felt panic rush through his body. He couldn't take on Danzo. The man may be old and bandaged but he was still a highly trained shinobi. His brother had once told him that if he wasn't on a mission and a man or woman held him against his will, and they were really creepy and trying to hurt him, he should yell out one word and flare his chakra. Kei decided to listen.

"Rape!" Kei screamed as loud as he could as he sent chakra spikes out. Almost instantly, Kei saw three ANBU drop down in front of him.

Kei let out a sigh of relief when he saw them, and felt his eyes watering. When Danzo let go of his shoulder, Kei quickly ran and hid behind the ANBU and whimpered.

"What is happening here?" A bug mask asked.

"He grabbed me and said he likes them young and then he ripped my shirt, and said he was going to take me, and then he was hurting me, and breathing into my ear, and I was scared so I yelled like my Nii-san told me too." Kei quickly rambled to the ANBU.

"That's not what happened! The brat is lying." Danzo yelled as he directed a vicious glare towards Kei.

"I think we should take you both to the Hokage, so things can be explained there." The bug ANBU spoke again.

"I'm not going based off a kid's lie." Danzo instantly proclaimed.

"Can we get my Nii-san first?" Kei asked.

"Who is your brother little one?" Another bug ANBU asked.

"Hatake Kakashi."

The ANBU stilled, one let out a cough like laugh before they spoke again. "Yes, we will definitely inform him."

After some threats from the ANBU, Danzo finally agreed to go to the Hokage. It was either go willingly or be dragged there by the ANBU. He chose the one with more dignity. When they arrived Kakashi was already anxiously pacing the office. When Kei entered, Kakashi was instantly on him, and checking for injuries. When he noticed the ripped shirt and red shoulder, he glared daggers at the elder.

"You tried to rape my otouto?" Kakashi wished more than anything that his K.I could form a katana and stabbed the bandaged old man repeatedly.

"Now now Kakashi, we haven't heard the full story." The Hokage tried to placate the Jounin. Seeing that the Jounin wouldn't be calmed down, he moved onto to questioning the ANBU. He asked them exactly what happened.

They told him that while on patrol, they felt the chakra spikes. They described how when they entered the scene, Danzo had been holding Kei from behind and leaning towards him. They even told the Hokage what Kei said, exactly, and the trip over.

"Danzo-san, did you tell Kei you liked them young?" The Hokage asked.

"I did say that, but it was taken out of context." A fierce growl was heard from the corner of the room, where Kakashi was holding Kei closely.

"Did you tell Kei that you were going to take him somewhere?"

"It was out of context!"

"Did you grab Kei and rip his shirt?"

"It wasn't like that!"

"Well I think that is more than enough to send him to Ibiki on charges of child molestation." The Hokage declared. "ANBU please take him to T&I and explain the situation."

The ANBU quickly took hold of Danzo and removed the yelling man from the room. Once the office was quiet again and everyone was more calm, Kei decided to ask a question that had been bugging him all day.

"Nii-san, what does it mean when someone kisses you on the lips?"

The Hokage heard the innocent question, and felt like groaning. It would probably be best if he sent Kei and Makoto on a nice long mission outside the village, while they clear the whole Danzo situation up. It might also be best if Kakashi went with them. He didn't think he would like the paper work, he would no doubt have to deal with, when Kakashi tried to break into the T&I offices to kill Danzo.

o.O.o.O.o

_So I didn't really get any omake prompts this time around. I was going to just not do an omake but as I was writing this chapter, I got a funny picture in my head and decided to share it. I couldn't think of where it would fit, so it is now the omake. Plus, I'm dedicating this omake to Scotty77. He rec'd a Naruto story that has given me hours of amusement between real life. So I think he deserves this. Go Scotty go._

Kei was happily eating his dango, while Makoto sat across from him, trying to plan an escape route. They had decided to take a break during training, but their fangirls found them quicker than usual today, thus trapping them inside the cafe.

Kei was about to pick up his next stick of dango when a blonde and pink blur crashed into his table and crushed his delicious food. Pouting at the loss of his treat, he looked up to see two girls.

"Are you Yuki?" the blonde one demanded while glaring at him.

"Yeah are you Yuki?" The pink one backed her up.

Kei looked down at his poor crushed dango and ignored them as he sent a small prayer to the dango god hoping for safe passage while his crushed dango passed on.

"Well answer us!" The pink yelled.

"What's the problem?" Makoto gently asked the pair sitting on the table and crushed dango.

"We want to know if this girl is Yuki. We are looking for a girl named Yuki that has green eyes and is trying to steal our Sasuke-kun!" The blonde explained.

Kei didn't hear them as he was detailing to the dango gods how he wished the poor crushed dango could find a nice dango family to take care of them and that hopefully his next plate of dango won't meet with such a tragic end like this one did.

"I believe you have the wrong person. That is Kei, and _he _is a boy." Makoto explained. "I think it would also be best if you bought him more dango, since you ruined his previous plate." He pointed out.

"What?" the two girls screamed together. For the first time they noticed they were sitting on a pile of crushed dango.

"-also could you try to make the sticks bigger to fit more dango? That would make things a lot better too. Thank you Dango Kami-sama." Kei finished his prayer and turned his eyes onto his partner "Makoto..."

That seemed to be the magic word as a group of girls stormed into the cafe. They quickly made their way to the table, while glaring at the two girls sitting there.

"We will make you pay!" one yelled.

"You ruined Kei-sama's dango and interrupted Makoto-sama's thinking time!" another yelled. The girls grabbed the two and pulled them out side where two larger groups of girls were waiting.

"Who are you?" the blonde yelled.

"We're the Makoto-sama and Kei-sama fan club!" The first group cheered.

"Well were the Sasuke-kun fan club!" the second group cheered too.

Makoto made his way to the counter and ordered a bunch of dango and pudding to go. Once he received the bags, he turned around to see the two fan clubs at war. Taking advantage of the situation he grabbed Kei, ushered him out, and away. Makoto was never more thankful for a fan club. They made a clean escape.

* * *

The Great Ice Cream Debate!

Chocolate- 17, Vanilla-18, Other-15, Dango-3

Someone wrote vanila a hundred times, but I only counted it as one. Plus 'other' mainly includes the people who voted mixing them together or other flavours.

This question round wasn't as biased. Vanilla had a steady lead until a few cocolate fans wrote in, then it was pretty scary until the end.

Question! Kei vs. White Powder of Doom. Who will win in the end?


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

Warnings: _Language, OC'ness, Het, Slash, underage, fluff, smut, and abuse to the author, Loss of Kei's cuteness._

_Beta: Kyuubi no Goddess_

___**Stealthy in Snow**_

Kei was brought in for questioning over the Danzo incident. He answered all the questions Ibiki asked, and relayed every word Danzo said perfectly. Ibiki had gone stiff at the mention of ROOT, but Kei waved it away and continued on. He patiently answered any other questions they asked to verify his story before he was released. Kakashi and Makoto had met him outside the building, and took him home once the T&I department was finished with him.

The Hokage kept to his idea and sent the three of them away on an escort mission to Fang Country. The number of bandit raids had gone up in the last few months, and it was a perfect opportunity for Kakashi to vent his anger. He personally took out any threat to the caravan group, while Kei and Makoto sat back and protected the merchants. They extended their mission when Kakashi found a newly released bingo book that had Kei in it. It was two sentences at the bottom of Kakashi's page, saying that Kei was his younger brother and also a shinobi. Kakashi actively searched for bandits after that.

When they returned to the village, the Hokage gave them a detailed report on the interrogation of Danzo and the following events. Danzo had adamantly refused that he was attempting to kidnap Kei with the intention of molestation. He even tried to tell the interrogation team, that he was merely talking with Kei because the child was a prodigy, and wanted to know his thoughts, and discover if he would be a potential threat in the future like Uchiha Itachi. When questioned about ROOT, he denied its existence and tried to remind everyone that he disbanded the organization years before. The Hokage had given him the choice of telling the truth, or facing charges of abduction and conspiring to rape. Danzo remained silent.

His punishment was 12 months in prison, and the village was made aware of his charges. When he would finally be released, he would have at least two ANBU tail him everywhere he went for a year. If they lost sight of him for five minutes, they were to report it and he would be arrested. If the ANBU watching him got hurt, Danzo would be arrested. They would keep a log of everyone he talked to, and one ANBU had to be within hearing distance of any conversation he held. He would have any mail or documents he wrote checked over, and was not allowed near children. He wouldn't be allowed to step near the academy. The parent's who lived near him, filed a complaint and petition for him to be forcibly removed from the area, so the Hokage had his things packed up, and all paperwork checked over by T&I.

The civilian council tried to appeal the Hokage's decision on the grounds that the child in question was merely looking for attention, by spinning tall tales from a peaceful chat. The Hokage calmly replied that they had no say in the matter since Kei was a shinobi, and out of their jurisdiction. To appease their wounded egos, and drive home the point of Danzo's sins, he presented them with evidence of a mutilated body that was discovered outside the village walls. The body was covered in Kei's blood, and was around the same small height and weight. It's discovery on the same day Kei was almost taken, and the 'accident' at the hospital where Medic Kujyo's office was ransacked, and blood samples were stolen; including Kei's, only proved the fact that someone was conspiring to take Kei.

When they attempted to argue coincidence, Kei was brought in relayed his conversation with Danzo again, and most of the council wilted under his testimony. When the other half kept trying to push for the appeal on the grounds that Kei may be a shinobi, but Danzo was retired, Kakashi flooded the room with K.I and glared at every protester and took down their names. They quickly withdrew the appeal after that. The Hokage closed the matter, and warned the council to never bring it up again.

Kakashi had been happy to provide assistance in transferring Danzo from the T&I holding cells to the prison. It was a long a bumpy route. The civilian council wanted to protest the blatant conflict of interest, but the Hokage merely pointed out that Kakashi was a well respected Jounin, and happened to be closest when he needed people to move the retired council member. If an old man walked back to this office whistling a cheery tune, after the event, it went unnoticed.

Once everything settled down, Kakashi began to relax. Danzo was locked away, no other attempts on Kei's life had been made, and Makoto had even moved into their spare bedroom. The last one took awhile though. Mainly because they needed to clean out all of Kei's weapons, donate/sell the boxes of girl clothes from Kurenai, and relocate Kakashi's book collection. They also had to unseal Makoto's window, but held firm on keeping the front door inaccessible. They had a perfectly good window and hole, if people wanted to visit.

o.O.o

Months passed and Kei and Makoto got higher ranked missions. Escorts jobs went up and even a few retrieval missions. The pairs stealth and infiltration was the best among all the Chunin, and even some Jounin. They trained constantly and memorized the scroll they had received from Gaara.

As their mission numbers grew, so did their reputation. It started out as a small whisper of a pair of leaf nin that would drop in and then leave a bloody scene behind. Many believed it to be merely rumour and overlooked it. As time passed and more reports were whispered across the countries, missing nin and shinobi villages began to wonder.

It wasn't unusual for shinobi to be a little bloody in their fights, but the rumoured pair always left the same scene behind. The states of the bodies were like their own calling card. Some shinobi refused to believe it, and brushed the rumours off as exaggerated accounts from civilians. They didn't want to believe the rumours of the pair since there was no proof. No one knew who they were, and since no one could provide a picture or describe their appearance, it was discounted. They chalked it up to Konoha developing a new training regime, and that scared them more than some phantom shinobi pair terrorizing the nation.

Soon Kei and Makoto's birthdays passed. They held a small celebration, but that was it. The day after they had been sent on another mission. They were closer and more comfortable with their roles. Eventually they got to the point where they were hyper aware of the others presence and didn't need to speak or signal the other while fighting. They instinctively knew where the other was and moved to accommodate them.

Kei still visited Sasuke as Yuki in between missions. He never kissed the boy again, but Sasuke had started to hold his hand while they talked and would even tell Kei how he planned to have the main house completely renovated by the time Yuk moved in. Kei had just assumed that Sasuke wanted a friend nearby, like how Makoto now lived with Kei, and let the boy talk about his plans. The current count was Kei-10, White Powder of Doom- 11. But Kei was waiting for his revenge on the evil powder.

The yearly visit with Itachi was short but still nice. Kei lost again and Itachi had taken the Icha Icha book Kei had picked up for Kakashi. He knew his Nii-san liked the books, he never read them himself, but he wanted to give a present to his brother. He now had to buy a new one since Itachi had taken the one he got originally.

Kei and Makoto were even happy to be in the village when the Hokage had tried to give Kakashi his first Genin team. They watched from the trees as the trio attempted to steal the bells from Kakashi. They failed to grasp the concept of the task, and were dismissed back to the academy at lunch.

o.O.o

June rolled around again, and the Hokage summoned the pair to his office. Makoto opted for the polite thing to do, and knocked on the door, and entered when he was called. Kei slipped through the window and sat on the end of the Hokage's desk, kicking his feet as he waited for his partner.

"Hokage-sama, have you ever thought of putting a mini fridge in here?" Kei asked.

"What?"

"A fridge. You could put it against the wall, and then there would be cold drinks every time Nii-san visits. After long missions I bet he would enjoy a nice refreshing drink while he gives his report." Kei argued.

"I'm not putting a fridge in my office to convenience Kakashi. If he wanted a cold drink while he gave a mission report, he can buy one on the way." The Hokage countered.

"But you say we need to report here directly. No side stops, so he can't buy a drink."

"It's not like either of you report in right away after a mission, so I hardly see that as a valid reason for a fridge."

Kei looked slightly offended at the Hokage's words. "Hokage-sama! I always report in right away when I return from a mission."

"Yes, but I believe that the only reason you do, is because Makoto-kun drags you here."

Kei couldn't argue that, so he decided to remain silent.

"Well should I start the briefing?" The Hokage asked as he chuckled at the little Chunin's antics.

"We're listening Hokage-sama." Makoto answered.

"This will be a high B-class mission. I need you two specifically for this mission for a reason." Kei stopped kicking his feet and turned to give his full attention to the wise old shinobi. "A small village in Snow Country has been experiencing a series of disappearances. Young boys and girls have been kidnapped, and the local guards have been unable to find the man responsible.

They have tried to catch him multiple times but he seems to slip between their fingers. They requested our help in the matter. They haven't recovered a single body, so they are holding to the belief that the missing children are still alive. Our job will be to find the suspect, catch him, and find the missing children."

Makoto had a contemplative look on his face as he thought over the Hokage's words. "You want us to use Kei as bait, to lead us to the man's hideout. That is why you wanted us on this mission." He pointed out.

"Yes. Kei is the youngest shinobi we have, and I believe with his training he should be fine. If not, you will be there following him closely. I trust you both to be able to succeed at this mission."

Kei looked Makoto in the eyes and saw the determination to help settle in them. He gave his partner a nod, and jumped off the desk. "We accept Hokage-sama. We will leave in an hour after we pack." Kei announced.

"Here's the mission scroll and good luck." The Hokage handed a scroll to Makoto as Kei leapt out the window. He knew Makoto would be right behind him, so he didn't worry.

o.O.o

The trip to the Land of Snow was long. When they finally got to the country, they stopped in a neighbouring town, to the one they were headed to, and decided to set down a plan. They settled into a corner booth at a restaurant and ordered food. Once the food arrived, Makoto went through a series of hand seals and set up a privacy barrier.

"So Kei-chan, how do you think we should handle this?" Makoto asked.

"Well we need to touch base with the village leader. Once we know all the information from him, then we can get a better idea on how the kidnapper works."

"I think we should henge and just observe the village for awhile. See if he takes anyone else and try to follow him then."

"Henge is good. I think we should first enter the village under a jutsu, that way our appearance doesn't alert the kidnapper and scare him off." Kei pointed out.

"We could pose as brothers just passing through. Spend a few days in the village before moving on. Keeps us hidden from the kidnapper and doesn't raise suspicion." Makoto added.

"We should suppress our chakra too. The kidnapper is good, so he may have some shinobi training. Either academy drop out or from a shinobi clan but never went to train."

"Hmm, How about this; we go in under henge, meet the village leader and then play the traveling tourists for a bit. We sweep the village every night until we find the kidnapper. Once we establish our target, we 'leave' the village. We sneak back in, keep track of him, and then a few days later, we 'enter' the village as a father and son duo. You try to peak the targets interest, by sneaking out at night or something. I'll follow closely behind, and keep track of you. Hopefully, the target takes the bait, kidnaps you, I follow, we find the hideout, I come in, we immobilize the target. And we're done." Makoto hashed out.

"I'll leave Ranmaru with you at night. In case we get separated or the kidnapper manages to shake you off, Ranmaru will be able to track me." Kei offered. He squirmed in his seat for a bit before slowly speaking again. "I also think when we come in as the father son duo, it should be father daughter. Having two parties of two males arrive so close together would be suspicious and no one would really think a shinobi would willingly act as a girl." Kei felt his cheeks heat up, as he carefully studied the table

It wasn't that he liked dressing as a girl; it was that it would be less suspicious if he were a girl for one part of the mission. Not to mention, more girls were kidnapped than boys were, and it could be a sign of the kidnapper's preference.

"Sounds good."

"Don't tell Nii-san." Kei whispered as he heard his partner chuckle.

"No worries, I won't tell him. I think if I did, I would be on the receiving end of his wrath, for letting you dress as a girl." Kei let out a sigh of relief at his partners words and quickly dug into his cooling meal.

o.O.o

The meeting with the village leader went well. The gathered all the information they could on the kidnapper, and quickly settled into an Inn to set up base. When night fell, they snuck out of the room, and kept to the rooftops and shadows, observing the village. They picked out a few potential suspects, and kept tabs on them.

Over the following week, they narrowed it down, until the target finally made a move. Makoto was covering the east side of the village and watching one of their suspects, when the man slipped into an alley and hid. Makoto stayed hidden, but kept a close watch on the suspect. They stayed in their positions for half an hour, before the sight of a young boy walking down the deserted street, caused Makoto to tense.

Kei was on the west side of the village, and the distance was too great to get signal out. He could follow the man after he seized the kid, and hope they passed close enough to Kei to get out a signal, but it was risky. If Kei's thoughts of the man having a bit of shinobi training were true, than he might sense the chakra spikes and run. He could also hurt the child in the process, and Makoto wanted to avoid that. Makoto cursed himself for getting this separated from his partner. They only thing he could do was save the child before he was taken, and get the man's scent for Kei to track.

Makoto watched as the child got closer, and the man got more excited. When the boy was close enough, the man left his hiding place and grabbed him. Makoto watched as the man slammed the boy against a wall, and started leaning down. He decided to act. He jumped down from his position and quickly ran towards the pair. He called forth all his acting skills, made a henge, and put on a show.

"Yuuta-kun! I finally found you." Makoto announced his presence with an out of breath exclamation of joy. "I looked everywhere. Thank you sir for finding my brother." Makoto said as he walked closer to the pair.

The boy had a terrified look on his face, but also a small hint of confusion as he looked at Makoto. The man just looked furious, but he tried to hide it.

"Yuuta-kun, how many times do I have to tell you not to run off like that. Obaa-san was getting worried. Come let's go home." Makoto grabbed the boy's free arm and started pulling him away from the man.

"What do ya think yer doing?" The man growled at Makoto.

"I'm taking my sweet otouto home." Makoto smiled as he tried to bring forth his inner Kakashi and dote on the poor boy.

"This ain't yer brother, he's my nephew." The man tried to argue.

Makoto just gave the man a bewildered look before smiling again. "I think I know what my cute otouto looks like. This is most definitely my adorable Yuuta, and I'm taking him home. If you are going to stop me, I will have to report you sir." Makoto gave the man a harsh glare.

The man grunted and let the boy go. Makoto steered the boy away, as he accidentally brushed against the man. He apologized and quickly moved on. When they rounded the corner, Makoto stopped and quickly inspected the area. He bent down and looked the boy in the eye.

"I'm Makoto, a shinobi from the hidden leaf village. I won't hurt you; I just want to help you get home. Can you tell me where you live? "

The boy was too scared to speak, so he pointed in one direction, and Makoto stayed beside him as they walked. When they boy led him to a medium sized home, Makoto followed him in and asked for his parents. The boy scampered off, and a few minutes later a man and woman approached Makoto from another room.

"Makoto! What are you doing here?" Makoto heard as a familiar weight settled onto his back.

"Kei I was just about to talk to this couple about their son." Makoto was glad Kei popped up when he did. He didn't like dealing with people alone. He may be good looking and had people constantly surrounding him as he grew up, but he was still socially awkward around civilians- minus his parents. Shinobi were easier to deal with than civilians were, and Kei always managed to cover up any hesitation on Makoto's part with his normal child enthusiasm.

"What happened, Makoto?" Kei slipped into a serious tone as he jumped off Makoto's back. It was easier for Makoto if he just directed the report to Kei instead of talking to the parents.

"I was watching one of the suspects, when he hid in an alley. We were there for 30 minutes when a young boy appeared. The suspect grabbed the boy and pushed him against a wall before he started leaning down, to do something inappropriate. I interfered and claimed the young boy as my otouto, got him away from the man and brought him home." Makoto reported. He looked up to see the horrified looks on the couples face.

"You saved our Takeshi, how can we repay you?" The woman stepped forward.

"Uh... it's nothing really, just doing my job." Makoto explained while he looked to Kei for help.

Kei gave him blank stare, before stepping forth and smelling him left arm. "Is this where you brushed against him?" Kei asked.

"Yes." Makoto happily let Kei be the distraction.

Kei sniffed the air before going back and smelling Makoto's sleeve again. "Hmm, I think I got the scent. Can you take me back to where he tried to snatch the boy just to be sure?"

The parents were watching the pair in a state of utter confusion.

"Yes."

"Good. I can smell the boy in the house, but I want to make sure that the suspects scent wasn't contaminated by anyone else that might have touched your clothes today." Kei explained.

"Right, let's go." Makoto watched as Kei quickly warned the couple not to tell anyone about this, and then with a small wave and 'Take Care' they left. They had a suspect to track down.

o.O.o

They were able to track the man down where he was staying in a small apartment. They searched the entire building, without alerting the man, but they found nothing; no missing children, no hidden corridors, nothing. They tracked the man for another two days, wondering if he would lead them to another hide out, but got nothing. Fearing that the children might die of starvation before they found them, Makoto and Kei enacted the third part of their plan. Kei was going to be the bait.

The tourists had already 'left', so it was simple matter to slip into the town as the father daughter duo. Kei was glad that they were in the Land of Snow, since it was simple to replace his face mask with a white scarf, and not look out of place. Makoto had tried to get Kei to wear a pink coat, but Kei refused to wear that demon-inspired color, and they settled on a blue and purple coat instead. Kei had vowed to burn it after the mission.

They walked into the village and Kei acted like an excited little girl. He held Makoto's hand, and tried pulling him to look at various objects in shop windows. His hair was down, and while he thought, he should cut it when they returned home, the length worked well for this mission. The coat went to his knees and hid the shinobi style clothes underneath, and the scarf hid his face. Kei kept up his excited facade and even went as far as to point out a pretty dress that he would like. Makoto looked like he was actually considering buying it, before Kei suddenly found something shiny to distract him.

When they entered a restaurant, Makoto took note that their target was carefully watching every move Kei made. They settled at a table, and Makoto couldn't help but grin a little. Kei couldn't eat while wearing the scarf, and it would look suspicious if he kept it on and refused food. He had always been curious about his partners face, and now was his chance to see it.

Kei seemed to sense his thoughts, as the younger nin shot him an annoyed glare. There was no real heat behind the glare, so Makoto didn't worry. Finally, Kei gave a small huff, and pulled off the scarf. Makoto managed to keep all surprise off his face, but didn't stop the small grin. Kei was just too cute.

"Now I see why Kakashi-sama is so protective of you. If people knew how adorable you really were, Kakashi-sama would have to beat the boys, girls, men, and women off all the time. He wouldn't get any rest." Makoto teased the little Chuunin.

"I'm not adorable. I'm a shinobi; I'm scary, fierce, and manly." Kei snapped.

"Kei-chan, you are the cutest little shinobi in all the elemental nations. Plus, you're wearing girl's clothes, that is hardly manly, fierce, or scary." Makoto received another glare but he merely smiled and picked up his menu. Makoto thought he should start being as protective as Kakashi now. After all, his partner was too cute to be allowed near people with less than appropriate thoughts.

When they left the restaurant, the pair noticed that the target was stationed across the street, intently watching Kei. They just needed to set up a situation where Kei slips away, and then Makoto will follow. Ranmaru was already stationed on the rooftops watching the pair, as they had been all day, even before they entered the village.

The opportunity for Kei to sneak away came rather quickly. They turned down a lesser traveled street, pretending to be lost, when a woman approached Makoto, and offered her services. Makoto took the chance and instructed Kei to wait for him in a store down the street. He slipped away with the woman and watched as Kei skipped down the street, hopefully to be snatched.

Kei kept skipping even though he smelled the target getting closer. He knew that he would soon be captured, and he struggled not to tense, or let the man know what he was aware of his presence. When two arms shot out and pulled him into the shadows, he let out a gasp and his face filled with fear.

The target was a man somewhere in his forties. He had stringy black hair, a scruffy beard, and beady black eyes. He smelled filthy to Kei, even though he was wearing clean and cheap clothing.

"Aren't ya a pretty thing." The man smiled as he roughly tore Kei's scarf off.

Kei let out a whimper and weakly tried to get away. He was supposed to be a weak civilian girl, even if he could possibly fight this man and win, it would only hurt their mission.

"I might have to keep ya. Yer too pretty to sell like the others." He growled before he bent down and started to bite and lick Kei's neck.

Kei let out another whimper and tried to scream, but the man raised one hand and clamped it over his mouth. Kei really wanted to hurt the man, and stop him from doing whatever he was doing to his neck. His teeth hurt, his tongue was slimy, and his beard was itchy.

The man finally pulled away and grinned. Kei didn't like that expression at all on his face. He really hoped the man would just take him to his hide out.

"Time to go pretty." The man said, before he started dragging Kei along in the shadows. He kept one hand over Kei's mouth, and used his other arm to keep Kei's body close to his. Kei observed as he was led out of the village and closer to the nearby mountain.

The man only stopped twice to attack Kei's neck again, and let his hands wander over Kei's body. Kei didn't have many weapons on him. All he had was a tessen hidden in each girly boot he was wearing, and his trench knives hidden in the bandages wrapped around his arms. He couldn't reach any of them in his current position, but Kei held the belief, that as soon as they reached the man's hide out, he could grab one of his knives and at least punch the man in the face.

They reached a small opening hidden behind a boulder, and Kei was roughly shoved through it. On the other side, Kei stumbled into a comfortable looking living area. There was a couch, rug, table, and then a curtain sectioning off the other side of the cave.

The man grabbed him and quickly gagged him, before dragging him over and tying him to a post near the wall. He raised Kei's hand above his head, and used rope to tie them in place, followed by more rope to secure Kei's feet. Kei held in a huff at the use of rope. It was so easy to escape rope. The man grinned once he was done, and then trailed one finger down Kei's face and grinned some more.

"So pretty." He leaned down and placed a kiss over Kei's gag, before turning and walking towards the curtain. He pulled it open and Kei's eyes went wide at the sight.

Behind the curtain, was a kitchen like area, and a giant cage. Kei quickly counted and found the missing seven children from his mission scroll. He was happy that they weren't dead, but many looked close enough. There was a small metal shelf beside the cage, which held the remains of some food. Kei figured they tried to ration the food, but seven civilian children under the age of ten, weren't the best to accomplish that. They looked scared, dirty, and some even looked ready to give up.

"These one's weren't good enough. They ain't as pretty as ya, so in a week they're to be sold." The man explained as he dropping the curtain and hiding the children.

Kei couldn't stop himself from glaring hatefully at the man. Kei continued to glare as the man walked around the furnished cave and rambled on about the money involved and growing popularity of child slavery. Kei took in all the words, and memorized them for future investigation. He couldn't do anything while tied up. He needed Makoto to show up.

Makoto seemed to have been summoned at that thought. He burst into the cave and attacked the man. Kei used this chance, to use his fingers and dig out one of his trench knives. Once the knife was secure in his hand, he cut the rope and freed his hands. He quickly bent down, cut the rope around his legs, and took out his second knife. He pushed chakra into them, and smiled as they sparked.

Kei left Makoto to deal with the man as he slipped behind the curtain. He briefly saw the looks of surprise from the children, but he ignored them, to work on the lock. The lock was a regular deadbolt, but it had a seal on top. The seal was one, where if anyone but the man removed it, the seal would explode and kill the children and the one freeing them.

Kei observed the seal and thought, while Makoto fought the man behind him. The man was clearly shinobi trained at some point. No one but a shinobi could have made this seal, and held up this long in a fight against Makoto. Thinking quickly, Kei had to resign himself to having to cut the bars. He had only recently started on trying to cut metal, and only succeeded 3 out of 5 times.

"Go to the other side of the cage and turn away, oh and try not to touch the bars." Kei instructed the kids. They instantly scrambled to comply.

Kei sighed, and then brought forth all his determination. He pushed more chakra into his knives to reinforce them before lunging and swiping once at the bars, spinning to reposition himself, and swiping a second time lower. He regained his footing and watched as several bars fell, leaving a hole for the children to climb out of.

Kei was about to tell the children to climb out when he noticed it was quiet. Not good- Makoto won the fight and is on standby quiet- but the -bad guy won and Makoto is in trouble- quiet. Kei turned to see Makoto slumped against the cave wall, and the man standing over him, with a raised kunai.

Kei felt his vision narrow, as he raced towards the man, hoping to arrive before the kunai fell. He needed to save Makoto. The world seemed to slow, as Kei saw the kunai descend inch by inch. He pushed his legs to move faster, he prayed that Makoto was playing possum and would jump up and stop the man. When the kunai was right above Makoto's heart, Kei jumped and used a sidekick, to hit the man and unbalance him.

The man turned and snarled at Kei, but Kei swiped one knife across the man's arm and hit the right nerve to paralyze it. The man started cursing as he rushed Kei, but Kei dodged to the side and hit the nerve in the man's other arm. With both arms out of service, Kei spun around the man and hit the nerves and tendons at the back of the man's legs several times, and watched as the man dropped to the ground.

Kei stopped thinking as he jumped in front of the man and kicked him in the chest, sending him flying across the room and landing on his back as he slid. Kei felt as his body surged forward and jumped on the man's chest. He watched in a detached fashion, as he turned his hands so the extended blade of the trench knives pointed down, and then Kei watched as his arms fell and plunged the blades into the man's heart- just like how the man was going to kill Makoto. But Kei couldn't stop after that. He kept bringing his arms up and then stabbing the man repeatedly, trying to assure himself that the evil man that hurt him, hurt Makoto, and hurt those children, was really dead. He needed to be dead. Men like him didn't deserve to live and breathe.

Kei only stopped stabbing the man when two familiar arms wrapped around him and stilled his own arms. He breathed in Makoto's spicy and sweet scent, and felt his body relaxing. He turned and buried his face into Makoto's neck, inhaling his scent and was relieved that Makoto was okay. He wasn't ready to lose Makoto. They had only been partners for two years. That wasn't nearly enough time. They needed to be partners for at least another 50 years, before Kei would be ready to part with him.

"I'm sorry." Kei whispered.

"Whatever for?" Makoto asked.

"He almost killed you, and I didn't think I would get there in time." Kei explained.

"It's my fault. I wasn't strong enough. I'm glad nothing bad happened to you."

Kei clutched Makoto tightly. "I'm not ready for you to leave me. You can't die without me, and that won't happen until were really old like the Hokage, okay?"

"Sounds good Kei. When we get really old, we'll go on one last adventure and die in some heroically tragic way together." Makoto said softly to the trembling boy in his arms.

"We can't leave out Nii-san." Kei added.

"Kakashi-sama would have tagged along anyways."

The pair sat on top of the dead man for a minute before they heard shuffling from behind the curtain. Apparently, the children heard the silence and when no one came back, they decided to investigate. They brought the pair back to reality and Makoto decided Kei would stay with the children, while he went and got help. They covered the dead body, before letting the children out of the cage, and found spare blankets for them.

Makoto left, but only after, he agreed to take Taka with him. Kei was afraid of him going alone, and Taka would be the best against enemies. Makoto returned with the local village police force, and a medic. The children all got a quick exam, before they were cleared for traveling. Kei stayed behind and told the captain of the police force everything the man said. Kei and Makoto decided to stick around for a week to see if this buyer would show, but they also sent a message off to Konoha.

The day before the buyer was to arrive; four ANBU arrived in the village. Kei and Makoto gave complete reports on the entire mission, and didn't leave out a single detail. Afterwards, they took the ANBU to the cave, and were dismissed. The Hokage wanted them back and the ANBU would handle the rest.

As they traveled back, Makoto asked a question that had been bothering him.

"Kei are you upset that we couldn't finish the investigation?"

"A little. I wanted to help find the people responsible for hurting those kids, but it was beyond our skill level. It was an A class mission at least, and better suited to be handled by the ANBU."

"I know, but still wish I could have seen it to the end." Makoto responded.

They traveled in silence for a while before it was Kei's turn to ask a question. "Makoto, did you ever want to join ANBU?"

"I did. When I first graduated, I had planned to be a regular shinobi for a few years, and then join the ANBU force. But things change, and it didn't work out like that."

"Am I holding you back from joining?" Kei hesitantly asked.

Makoto took a moment to compose his thoughts to answer. "It's not that you're holding me back. A part of me still wants to join, but the larger part loves being your partner. If it came down to being your partner or joining ANBU, I would choose you every time."

Kei took a moment before responding. "What if I were to be your ANBU partner?" Kei asked.

Makoto turned his head to look at his little partner. He could see the anxiety in Kei's eyes, and knew he was worried Makoto would leave him. "I couldn't ask for a better person to be my ANBU partner." Makoto didn't need any time to think about it. "If I were to join ANBU I would only do it with you at my side," and that was the truth.

Makoto couldn't see himself taking missions without Kei sitting on the Hokage's desk kicking his feet, or having a partner that thought doors were evil arch ways out to kill him. Life would be boring and less bright without Kei beside him.

"Good cause you can't get away from me. I mean without me around you would probably get yourself killed." Kei stated. Makoto saw the fear that still lingered in Kei's eyes from his near death, so he moved and wrapped one arm around Kei's shoulder and pulled him close.

"I know, I know, and without me, you won't have anyone to remind you how unbelievably adorable you are on missions." Makoto teased. Makoto smiled when he saw the slight fear leave Kei's eyes at his reassurance. He couldn't leave the little Chuunin, not even if he had to fight the Hokage and council to keep them from separating them.

"Let's go home Kei-chan and bug the Hokage into letting us join ANBU."

"And getting a mini fridge!" Kei added.

Makoto laughed, and soon the pair returned to their journey home.

* * *

There were several awesome ideas for an omake, and it was hard choosing which one to use. In the end I decided on the idea from Sarlyssia and h.l. FEARMEfrancis, RefelctionsofReality, and ireadtomuch- your ideas will come to fruition soon.

OMAKE

Kakashi knew this day was coming. He had tried to avoid it, but sometimes the world was out of his control. After all, he couldn't always follow Kei and monitor everyone he interacts with. He just wished that this day came later, like when Kei was 40 something and ready to retire as a shinobi and permanently be under Kakashi's watchful eye. No, today was the day he talked to Kei about kissing.

When Kei entered the room, Kakashi quickly sat him down, and charged forth.

"Kei, my sweet wonderful little cute Kei, has someone kissed you on the lips?"

"Yes." Kei answered in his sweet innocent voice. Kakashi wanted to protect that voice.

"Was it Danzo?" Kakashi growled. He would break into that prison and murder that old man.

"No..."

"Who was it?" Kakashi needed to know. He needed to know whose blood to track.

"Is kissing on the lips bad?" Kei asked instead of answering.

"It's not that it's bad..." Kakashi didn't know how to answer this.

"I saw a couple kissing on the lips and they were really happy and nice afterwards. Does that mean kissing on the lips is a sign of friendship?" Oh his Kei was just too innocent.

"Well it could be a friendly gesture, but sometimes it means more than friendship."

"Like best friends? Kiba's my best friend, so should I be kissing him on the lips?"

"No!" Kakashi yelled. He quickly gathered himself and explained. "Kissing someone on the lips is a sign of a close relationship, but you can't kiss any there unless I allow you too. I need to approve of that person before their lips get anywhere near yours." Well that settled this entire situation. "Now who kissed you?"

Kei felt the need to protect Sasuke and not name him."Just a boy" he answered.

"What's the boy's name?"

"I don't know."

"What's he look like?"

"Well he has black hair, and wears blue. I see him sometimes around the village, and he talked about us living together, but I don't know his name." Kei nodded to himself at his well thought out answer. Another popped into his head, that maybe he shouldn't visit Sasuke for awhile.

* * *

Kei vs. White Powder of Doom.

It was a close race. Very neck and neck. One vote could have tipped the scales...

Tie- 2, Kei- 16, WPOD- 41.

Sigh... so many people were eager to proclaim Kei's defeat. Anyways, I want to set up a game, and the winners get a oneshot as a prize.

Anyone have any ideas for a game? I'm terrible with games.

Question: We've seen Godzilla, We've seen Chuck Norris, and We've seen the victory of an inanimate object, Now who will win when Kei is sorted?

Gryffindor(Roar!)? Slytherin(Hisss)? Ravenclaw(CAW!)? Hufflepuff(finders!)?


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

Warnings: _Language, OC'ness, Het, Slash, underage, fluff, smut, and abuse to the author, Loss of Kei's cuteness._

_Beta: Kyuubi no Goddess_

**ANBU Antics**

The Hokage was having a very entertaining week. Kei and Makoto had returned from their mission and had asked to be enrolled into ANBU. Naturally, he couldn't agree to their requests right away. He informed them of the long process it took to be entered into the ANBU recruit training, and even then they needed to spend months being observed after being recommended. He told them that he thought Kei too young to join, and that he didn't have the heart to split up one of the best shinobi partnerships he had ever seen.

That didn't deter them though. No, it fact it seemed to inspire them. They took to training hard in the mornings and spending the afternoon trying to convince the Hokage into letting them join the recruit training. He kept saying no, so they took it a step further. It started with simple things; notes saying "enrol Makoto and Kei, singed the Hokage', to pictures of the pair with witty slogans about them joining.

They started giving him gifts of dango and pudding to help encourage his decision. He enjoyed the delicious treats but still could not approve of the pair. Then one day they both walked in through the door. The fact that Kei used the door, gave Sarutobi enough justification to give his full attention to the pair. They both had serious expressions that were filled with determination.

Before Sarutobi could blink, the pair broke out into a choreographed cheer.

'_Kei and Makoto are the best,_

_They will train better, than the rest!_

_ANBU is the way to go,_

_So you better not say NO!'_

They had started with simple arms movements, and cheering together. When they got to 'No', they both put their hands on their hips and glared at the Hokage. He couldn't help but chuckle at their antics.

'_Give me an A'_

Kei jumped onto the nearby table and they put their arms together to form an 'A'.

'_Give me an N'_

The Hokage lifted a questioning eyebrow when he saw Makoto bend over to form two lines of the 'N', while Kei only stood in place and finished the letter.

'_Give me a B'_

'Well that's an interesting position, hopefully, Kakashi doesn't see this.' The Hokage thought at Kei's body position.

'_Give me a U'_

They merely lifted their arms to form a 'U'. They ended with Kei doing a high back flip and landing on Makoto's shoulders. They spread their arms out and wiggled their fingers.

'_ANBU'_

"The answer is still no." The Hokage told the smiling pair.

Kei huffed and took off out the window, purposely leaving it open so the wind blew his paperwork over, and Makoto silently left through the door. Sarutobi laughed at the thought of the pair. He briefly considered never agreeing if it meant he got this type of entertainment weekly. Except, the pairs next tactic put a stop to those thoughts.

A few days later when Sarutobi saw Kei attempting to bring two of the Nara deer through his window, while Makoto set up various metal hoops around his office, and starting to light them, he decided it was time to put a stop to this. The Nara clan would never forgive him if anything happened to their deer.

"Stop! I will give you a task. If you complete it, I will enrol you in the recruit training." Sarutobi offered.

"Promise?" Kei eyed him suspiciously.

"Promise, just put the deer down." Sarutobi replied.

"Remember your promise Hokage-sama!" Kei said before he made a seal and dispelled the henge on his ninken.

The Hokage couldn't believe that instead of Nara deer, it was just Ranmaru disguised. A kid, not even into the double digits of age, had tricked him.

"So what do we need to do?" Makoto asked.

Sarutobi smiled at the pair, as he thought of the perfect little revenge for the deer incident.

"It's quite simple." He stood up and pushed five bins and a garbage can towards the pair. The five bins were labelled; A, B, C, D, and Village. Next, he pushed two towering stacks of paperwork towards them.

"You need to read all the paperwork and separate them into their appropriate bin. All mission requests go to the corresponding letter, and village news, shipments reports, repair requests go into the village bin, and any requests from the civilian council go into the garbage. If the garbage bin gets too full, burn the contents, and start again." Sarutobi explained.

Sarutobi smiled to himself as he sat back down and lit his pipe. He decided to take a break and watch the pair struggle for a bit- it would be nice to see someone else suffer his daily torture. He watched as the pair conversed quietly, before Makoto took the bins and placed them around the office.

He watched curiously when he noticed the distance between each bin around the walls. Makoto stood in the middle of the room, and the garbage bin was placed between Kei and his partner. The set up was different, and Sarutobi was interested in the pairs actions.

Next, he watched as Kei did a few stretches while Makoto memorized the placement of each bin. When they both finished, Kei stretched his arms one last time and took the first scroll. In a blink of an eye, Kei threw the scroll behind him and called out 'D'. Makoto caught it and tossed it into the proper bin.

Sarutobi nearly dropped his pipe when he realized what was happening. Kei was reading each scroll quickly before throwing them to Makoto to place. It was perfect. It barely took Kei a second to read each scroll before it was thrown back. Makoto didn't even need to take his eyes off Kei to throw the scrolls, and they landed in each bin perfectly.

It took the pair five minutes to go through the two piles of paperwork. Sarutobi couldn't keep the astounded look off his face. When the last scroll flew through the air, and landed in the bin, Sarutobi was broken from his stupor by Kei throwing his arms in the air and yelling "Done!"

Looking around, not a single scroll was laying outside the bins. Sarutobi looked back at Kei and finally noticed the pile of scrolls at his feet. He felt a little better that it seemed Kei dropped a few.

"There's still some at your feet." The Hokage pointed out.

"Oh those are the council requests, Makoto and I will get rid of them soon." Kei explained.

Sarutobi responded by pushing more paperwork towards the little Chunin. Sarutobi watched as the pair quickly sorted all the wok that had been on his desk. It was amazing to watch. Maybe he should make this a test for future ANBU hopefuls. It would certainly save him time.

When Kei finished, he turned to Makoto. "Ready?"

"Of course." Makoto responded.

Kei sat down among the civilian council requests and picked one up. He threw it in the air just above the garbage bin, to watch as it was engulfed in a fireball and the ashes fall into the bin. They set a steady pace burning each of the requests until nothing was left.

"We finished Hokage-sama. Are you going to put us in the recruit training?" Kei asked.

"Yes." The Hokage couldn't go back on his word, plus the pair just saved him two days worth of paperwork. He could probably spend some quality time with his grandson now.

After the pair left, Sarutobi took out an empty scroll and wrote a quick note to the ANBU commanders. They would need to work with two new hopefuls for their recruit training in a few weeks. He used one of his amused ANBU guards to send the message, before leaving his office for the day. He felt lighter. The absence of pending paperwork made his feel years younger.

o.O.o

The day that the recruit training started, Makoto refused to be late and dragged Kei out of Kakashi's sleeping arms. He carried the sleeping boy to the designated building they were to meet at, and tried to shake him awake. Only when he whispered promises of dango, did the little Chuunin open his eyes.

When they entered the building, they were handed black uniforms and blank white masks. Next, they were given arm bands with numbers on them. They were told to change and then meet in a certain room. Makoto was 19 while Kei was 20.

The training was tough. Every day they would start with rigorous PT training, and then combat. They worked on stealth, fighting, information gathering, and infiltration. For their first test, they were taken to the Forest of Death, and told to make their way to the tower. At the tower, they would be given a mission to find something in the forest and their results would determine which ANBU training route they would take.

The forest was littered with ANBU, and the teams had to fight them on the way to the tower. Makoto and Kei were a team of their own, since the Hokage had forbidden the ANBU captains from separating them. They only ran into one ANBU at a time and it was easy to fight them two on one and escape.

When they reached the tower, they were told that their mission was to find five giant tigers, kill them, and bring their fur back to the tower to pass. If they couldn't complete the mission in two days, they would fail.

With Kei's hearing and nose, it wasn't hard to track down the tigers. Once they located one, Makoto would attack and when he managed to pin the giant beast, Kei would jump in and kill it quickly. Together they would skin the beast, and then seal the pelt in a scroll. Since Kei's tracking was so good, they managed to complete the mission on the day the received it and returned to the tower, without any interference. They handed over the pelts, and were dismissed until they were called again.

Kakashi didn't know what the pair were doing. He was told they had bumped up their training, and were taking more missions. Makoto had reassured Kakashi that all the missions were within Fire Country, and it soothed the Jounin's worries a little bit. He still wasn't happy with Kei's many absences but he accepted them.

After the first test, the recruits were separated. There were several different sections to ANBU; the first being the T&I department. The T&I department had a joint section for Intelligence. The second section were the trackers. These were the hunter nins. The ones that were the quickest and could find anyone or anything. Kei and Makoto were drafted to this section. The last section was the general group. These were the fighters- the ones who were mediocre at tracking, and better at fighting. These ANBU would guard the village and Hokage, and in case of war, would be on the front lines. The trackers would be the scouts, and Intelligence would be the strategists.

The second test they faced was a month after the first one. The trackers were shown a house that was heavily trapped. Their mission was to get into the house, find the object, and get out without alerting anyone in the house.

Kei and Makoto went first and did a complete evaluation on every trap they could spot. Once they gathered all the information they could they compared notes and noticed that each missed a few traps that the other caught. Afterwards, they plotted on how to bypass or dismantle each one. Once they had a game plan, they entered the house.

The best part of their partnership was that they trusted the other completely. If Makoto told Kei to stop and step elsewhere, Kei didn't hesitate to listen. If Kei told Makoto they needed to take a new route through the house, Makoto didn't argue, he just started pointing out new pathways.

They had to retrieve the ANBU captain's kunai set. The task was made easier since Kei had picked up the captains scent, and easily followed it through the house. They slowly and silently worked their way through the house, dismantling most of the traps in case they needed a quick getaway. Once they reached the room with the kunai set, they slipped into the neighbouring room, and followed rule two. They avoided the door. They slipped out the window and walked on the wall to the room's window.

The room was heavily trapped, but there didn't seem to be any around the window itself. The door however had several seals on it. Makoto took a moment to actually appreciate the ridiculous Hatake rules. Sometimes they applied.

They got into the room, grabbed the kunai set and out. They traced their steps back, and exited through the same window they entered at the front of the house and right in front of the ANBU captain. The ANBU testing team entered the house and counted how many traps they dismantled or tripped, then reset them for the next team.

The final test was the toughest. They were dropped into the middle of an unknown country, blindfolded, and given a map. The task was to use the map to determine their position, make their way to a certain village, locate an informant, and get back to Konoha.

Makoto instantly took on navigation. Kei was an amazing tracker but was terrible with directions.

"Well Kei-chan we're headed to a northern mountain village." Makoto said.

"So we just need to travel to those mountains?" Kei pointed towards the mountain range in front of them.

"Look behind you." Makoto sighed. The ANBU had placed them exactly in the middle of two mountain ranges. They needed to decide which one had the chosen village.

"Oh." Kei responded.

Makoto studied the map, and then his surroundings. "No worries Kei, based off the moss growth, we just need to follow it to the northern mountain range. It's not that difficult." Makoto pointed out. The map showed a northern and southern mountain range. The village they were looking for was hidden in the northern one. Moss grew on the north side of trees. Anyone could figure that out easily, except...

"So we're headed to that one?" Kei pointed towards the south mountain range. Makoto sighed and moved his partner's arms till it pointed towards the right mountain.

"That way."

"Right!" Kei said.

The village was easy to find with Makoto leading. Once there they had to find the informant. They weren't given any information on who they were suppose to look for, but thankfully Kei's nose picked up the Fire Country under scent. Makoto never understood the under scent theory. All he knew was that Kei could tell where somebody was from by a certain scent that all people from one country had.

Kei followed the scent until they found a woman food shopping. They followed her until she got home, and just before she entered the house, she dropped a scroll. Then without acknowledging them, she entered and closed the door. Makoto grabbed the scroll before trying to find where the hell they were.

o.O.o

When they arrived back at Konoha, the ANBU Captain that was in charge of their section ushered them into the Hokage's office. The Hokage sat serenely behind his desk and smiled when the pair entered. The ANBU captain left and the pair stood waiting for instruction.

"You can remove the blank masks." The Hokage told them.

The Hokage was immensely proud of the duo in front of him. He had his reservations when he first agreed to let the pair try for ANBU. Kei was still young and naive, while Makoto seemed to be slowly turning into a blue haired Kakashi. His doubts fled when he read the reports of all the ANBU recruits. He knew who number 19 and 20 were. It wasn't hard since they were the only pair.

He wasn't the least bit surprised when they were drafted to tracking. It was a calling for the Hatake's. The pair would make a great addition to the ANBU forces, and since the second test, he already had their ANBU masks waiting.

The Hokage reached into a drawer and pulled out two masks- one that had not been worn, since a certain white haired Jounin retired. Sarutobi actually kept the mask out of commission for the day when Kei joined. Sarutobi placed the two masks on the desk in front of their respective owner.

"Congratulations ANBU Inu, and ANBU Jakkaru."

* * *

o.O.o

So there's no omake for this chapter, simply because I started 'Newton's Prize Counter'.

I will still write omake's but for now whenever someone wins a oneshot, it will be posted there.

First oneshot is for My Ashland, who suggested we play a version of 'I Spy'. So who ever guess right gets a oneshot prize.

I will probably do this every other chapter depending on how many guess right...

'In my bedroom, I Spy... something that is yellow, cylindrical, and full of colour pieces.'

If you aren't signed in it makes it hard for me to respond and tell you that you won, so please sign in.

Question Time!

Last chapter's results are in and I don't think their surprising at all. Pretty spot on really.

Puffadoodle's- 39, Slitherinasaurus'- 19, Roartastic- 8, Flying High- 10

Question: Who would win playing Monopoly? Kei and Makoto, Kakashi, Kotetsu and Izumo, or Kurenai?

P.S to Selene- I understand your plight. Kakashi is "loosely" based off my older brother and he's always been over protective.


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

Warnings: _Language, OC'ness, Het, Slash, sports anchor projecting, Loss of Kei's cuteness._

_Beta: Kyuubi no Goddess_

AN: So forgot to mention this last chapter... But this chapter is Series Start. That's right we finally arrived at the time when the Naruto anime/mango starts. I'll be going off the anime since I'm lazy and it's too much effort to re-read the manga... Just a heads up...Let's start.

**Team Theatrics**

Sasuke sat against a wall and closed his eyes. The last few years he had been training and working hard to reach this point. Tomorrow he would have the academy Genin test, and he couldn't wait. Not only would he become a shinobi, get away from all the annoying children in the academy and the fangirls, but also he could finally start working towards providing Yuki with the life she deserved. Of course, he still needed to find a way to bring the guardian spirit to life, but he was going to wait to cross that bridge.

Sasuke soaked up the warm sunrays as he relaxed and thought over the last few years. Most of the academy students were hopeless and didn't have a chance to become a shinobi. Most were too soft, or too average. Average shinobi got killed quicker. Some he could see becoming decent shinobi. The Aburame had potential and same with the Nara. Uzumaki had improved over the years, but he was still a loud, annoying, orange clad idiot. Inuzuka would probably do well in a tracking team, but Sasuke attributed that to his relationship to the small dog and the prodigy he faintly remembered.

He had tried to find the prodigy from the Chuunin exams, but he could never catch him. Usually after his unsuccessful tracking attempts, he would come home and Yuki would be waiting for him. Yuki' s visits were the only thing that kept him for declaring those days terrible. Her presence helped him put some things into prospective. He realized now how close he was to falling into an endless pit of hate. Yuki's vague words about Itachi helped him see the event from a different point of view.

He knew something about the situation didn't fit. Itachi had always been proud of his Uchiha heritage and even though closer to the end, he had spent less and less time around the compound. Those actions didn't warrant his sudden attitude change. Itachi was always nice, a hard worker, and extremely loyal to Konoha. He would sometimes sit Sasuke down and talk about the village, and even years later, Sasuke could still hear the love in Itachi's voice when he spoke of their home.

When Yuki was around her bright presence would chase away the shadows that clung to his mind, and was able to let Sasuke think more clearly about the subject. She never spoke of Itachi again after that first meeting, but Sasuke would still reflect on it. He no longer wanted to kill Itachi. He wanted answers. He needed those answers so he could finally understand why Itachi did what he did.

Sasuke heard a rustle of cloth and felt his smile grow. Only one person ever visited the Uchiha compound. Sasuke didn't bother moving, knowing the spirit would soon settle down beside him. Sasuke had grown to cherish these visits. Yuki didn't keep a regular schedule when she visited but, when she did, was when Sasuke needed her most. Sasuke smelled the scent of dango and let out a sigh.

"Yuki-chan..." he lightly scolded.

"Yesh?" Sasuke cracked one eye open at the muffled reply, and let out a small chuckle. Yuki was sitting beside him with chipmunk cheeks and two empty dango sticks.

"You stock my cupboards full of healthy food, but you only eat dango. I think it's being a bit hypocritical." Sasuke said as he reached out one hand and snatched the bag of dango away.

He had discovered a while ago that Yuki was obsessed with dango. He had returned home one day after the academy, and was wondering what to do with the dango a love struck girl gave him. He didn't eat the treat a lot and the girl had given him a fairly large quantity. He had just walked onto the porch when he discovered Yuki sitting on the railing staring intently at the bag in his hand.

He had experimented and moved the bag and watched as Yuki's eyes didn't leave it. He had walked into the house and the spirit followed him everywhere he went. After a five-minute game of 'Follow the Dango', Sasuke decided to show the spirit some mercy. For every stick of dango she ate, he got a kiss. It was a win-win situation all around.

Sasuke took out a dango stick, ate one of the dumplings, and moaned. He didn't know how she did it, but Yuki always managed to have the best tasting dango Sasuke had ever ate. He searched numerous dango stands in Konoha and never found dango that tasted as good as the dango Yuki always brought.

"Where do you get your dango?" he asked while eating another dumpling.

"It's an ancient spirit guardian secret." Yuki answered before the bag of dango was snatched back.

Sasuke didn't respond. He merely enjoyed the comfortable silence between them. When Yuki's familiar weight settled on his side and he felt a nose lightly nudging his neck, he raised his arm and ran his hand through Yuki's hair. He lightly scratched behind one of her ears and chuckled when the spirit sighed in contentment.

Sasuke often mentally compared Yuki to a puppy. He once thought about comparing Yuki to a kitten, but a wave of dread washed through his body and he had the feeling that that comparison would lead to pain. Sasuke gave a sigh and raised his other hand. He lightly cupped Yuki's cheek and moved the spirits face up until he was looking into sleepy green eyes.

"Will you come to see me graduate tomorrow?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm not supposed to be seen by others." Was the lazy response.

"I wish you were real." He whispered.

"I don't think you would like the real me as much." Yuki mumbled before her eyes closed and she leaned against Sasuke's warmth.

Sasuke took a moment to think about Yuki's wording. Her wording made it sound like there was a real non-spirit version of her walking around. Sasuke thoughts were interrupted when he heard a soft whine. He decided to think about the matter more later, and moved Yuki so she was in a more comfortable position to nap.

o.O.o

Kei leaned against a tree as he watched the new academy graduates run out of the building. He was running late for a training session at the ANBU headquarters, but he wanted to see Sasuke with his new accessory.

Kei instantly spotted Sasuke and smiled, when the older boy proudly walked out of the school. To others the walk would look arrogant but to Kei he knew it was really Sasuke being proud of himself- arrogance wasn't involved. He happily watched as his friend tried to fend off the many admiring comments from his fans, as Sasuke tried to exit the school grounds completely.

Kei was about to leave when he saw Kiba. He felt a little sad at the sight of his friend. Kei still tried to spend as much time with Kiba as he could but after the last couple of years, he could feel the distance growing. Kiba had always been anxious to become a shinobi and after learning Kei was already ahead of him, he accepted it well. When Kei became a Chuunin, Kiba was happy for his friend. But it seemed to just push his friend harder and focus more on his studies and training.

The problems really started when Kiba had gotten his canine partner. Akamaru was an adorable puppy and very playful. Kiba adored the little white guy, and Kei had too- in the beginning. Then one night Kei had slept over, and was woken multiple times during the night from a biting and kicking Akamaru. Kei endured an entire night of Akamaru staking his territory on Kiba.

When Kiba woke the next morning, he was confused about Kei's tired posture. When Kei tried to explain what happened, Kiba had laughed and waved the entire incident off. He told Kei that Akamaru just needed to get used to Kei sleeping over. Kei promised to give Akamaru time to get used to Kei's presence at night, but after the fifth night of being randomly attacked by the little white terror Kei had given up and stopped sleeping at Kiba's. This new reluctance worked out well when Kei joined ANBU.

At night, he could be randomly summoned and since he didn't want to tell Kiba that he had joined the elite squad, he felt better not staying at his friends. It also worked out since Makoto was only down the hall, whenever they were called they had a faster response time instead of running to the other side of the village to fetch Kei from Kiba's.

Thinking about ANBU Kei giggled at the memory of when Kakashi had found out they had joined. Makoto had decided he would deal with Kakashi prior to the recruit training. Kei assumed he had told his brother everything, but was surprised when he ran home to tell his brother the good news, he got a completely different reaction.

**Start Flashback**

_Kei rushed along the rooftops, he wanted to get home quickly to tell Kakashi about how he passed the ANBU testing. When he burst into the apartment, he found his brother sitting on the couch, jumped into his lap, and held up the dog mask in his hands._

"_Nii-san I did it! I passed the recruit training." Kei excitedly announced._

"_Where did you get that mask?" Kakashi asked with narrowed eyes as he brought one hand up to grasp the white mask._

_Kei stared at his brother with a confused expression. "The Hokage gave it to me when I returned today from the ANBU recruit training. Didn't Makoto tell you?"_

"_Was he supposed to?" Kakashi asked while turning his gaze onto the sheepish and slightly terrified shinobi standing in the doorway._

"_Yeah, he said that you were excited for me to be following in your footsteps." Kei explained. He looked up at his brother a little sad that he didn't get the reaction he expected._

"_I am very proud of you for being able to pass the ANBU test. We will go out to dinner tonight to celebrate, but first Makoto and I are going to have a little chat with the Hokage." Kakashi said as he lifted Kei and placed Him on the cushion beside him._

"_Okay!" Kei agreed._

_Kakashi got up and placed a hand on Makoto's shoulder. Kei saw the older boy flinch at the contact. An hour later Kakashi returned and sat Kei back on his lap._

"_Was there any other missions Makoto volunteered to tell me about?" Kakashi asked._

"_Did he tell you about Snow?"_

"_He told me some, but my memory is a little fuzzy, why don't you refresh it?"_

_Kei told Kakashi about the entire mission and his brother had gradually tightened his grip throughout. Kei didn't mind since the tight hold didn't hurt him. When he finished Kakashi had sent him off to shower and get ready for dinner._

_When Kei was ready, Kakashi informed him that Makoto was unable to join them since he promised to help Anko with something. Kakashi had even escorted Kei to the ANBU headquarters to get settled in. Kakashi had insisted on Kei having his own private shower and dressing area._

_Makoto hadn't appeared until three days later and he had been very twitchy and jumped at the smallest noises. It took a week for Makoto to settle back into his old self, and Kei never figured out what happened to his partner._

**End Flashback.**

Kei was broken from his memory when he felt a hand settle on his shoulder. He spun around and smiled at his partner. Makoto was wearing his ANBU uniform, and he could see Makoto's disapproving eyes through the mask's eye holes.

"Hey Makoto, I was just on my way in." Kei quickly stated. It was never good when he kept his partner waiting.

Kei didn't get a verbal response. Instead, Makoto held up Kei's own ANBU uniform and mask. Kei grabbed the clothing articles and jumped behind his partner into the shadows. A blink of an eye later he was changed and putting his mask on. It was time to go to work.

Just before leaving the tree, Kei remembered his original purpose for staking out the academy. He reached behind his head and pulled a dango stick out of his ponytail. Earlier he had written 'Congratulations' on the stick and had waited all day to deliver it.

Kei spotted Sasuke by the school entrance and quickly threw the dango stick. It landed beside Sasuke's foot, and Kei was happy to note that no one seemed to notice except the intended target. Sasuke bent down, picked the stick up, and smiled. Kei was happy that he could be there for Sasuke in some way on this special day.

o.O.o

Kei stood in a tense position waiting for Makoto's signal. He eyed the obstacles ahead of him, and analyzed them while he waited. Once the flare went up, Kei jumped into action.

Kei climbed the towering wall, and flipped over the top to avoid the spikes. He ran down the opposite side but jumped the last meter to land on his feet. Kei didn't waste a second before jumping into the trees at the same time as Makoto did.

Kei and Makoto jumped tree to tree, crisscrossing, and avoiding the exploding branches behind them. As they reached the last stretch, a shower of kunai and shuriken started falling. Kei sped up and started executing some acrobatic moves to avoid being hit.

When the trees ended, Kei landed on Makoto's shoulders, as his partner ran around avoiding traps. Kei would point a few out, and the older boy would avoid them while trying not to step on the others. When they reached the other side of the clearing, they ran into a cave and did a quick sweep for anything dangerous. Spotting nothing they moved further in, until a giant fireball came hurtling at them.

Kei pulled Makoto to the side of the cave to avoid the blast. When the flames started dying down, the pair rushed the source and took out the shinobi that was preparing for another fire attack. They striped the shinobi of any weapons and tied him up. They ventured further into the cave and started getting anxious when they ran into no more obstacles.

Just before exiting the cave, Kei signalled that he smelled someone outside. Makoto made a shadow clone and sent it out first. The pair watched as several different weapons hit the clone from various directions, the instant it took a step outside.

Without communicating, Kei climbed onto Makoto's shoulders again, and took out his two largest tessen. Kei whipped them open just before Makoto ran out of the cave. Kei waved the tessen around them to deflect the flying weapons, and to protect the pair while Makoto advanced. The storm of pointy objects stopped just when the pair spotted a red flag ahead.

As they approached, Kei smelled something off about the flag and he stopped Makoto. Taking out a shuriken, he hit the flagpole and watched as it blew up. "Shit" Kei heard Makoto quietly curse. Kei tapped his partners head and pointed towards a bush that had a bit of red fabric peeking out.

Kei stood on Makoto's hands as the older boy pushed him up and towards the red fabric. Kei turned upside down in the air, and snatched the red fabric, revealing a flag. He landed briefly on a tree and pushed off to fly towards Makoto, narrowly avoiding another explosion. Makoto caught him, and Kei held up the flag to signal the completion of the obstacle course. When the whistle sounded, the pair let out a sigh of relief.

They had been training all day and their captain had told them, he wouldn't be satisfied until they completed everything he assigned that day. The obstacle course was the last thing, and their aching bodies couldn't have been happier. They started to undress to shower, when an alarm went off through the ANBU headquarters.

"I bet this is Kami-sama's way of punishing us for stealing that cat's ribbon yesterday." Makoto said. Kei sighed as he started retying his armor.

A bird masked ANBU flickered into the room. "You're to report to the Hokage Tower." Without waiting for a response, the ANBU flickered out.

"In our defence it was a really nice ribbon." Kei said.

The pair left the dressing room, and body flickered over to the Hokage tower. When they arrived, the room was starting to fill with Chuunin and above. The ANBU were hiding in the shadows and observing. Kei even saw his brother standing against a wall reading an orange book.

When the Hokage entered, the room went silent. "Mizuki has stolen the forbidden scroll. You are all tasked with the mission of locating him, retrieving the scroll, and bringing Mizuki back. Ibiki would appreciate it if you brought him back alive."

When the Hokage finished, the assembled shinobi scattered. Once they were alone, Kei approached the area that the scroll always resided. He took in the smell of ancient parchment, and once memorized signalled to Makoto.

They quickly left as Kei tracked the Chuunin. Kei never understood why someone would betray the village. Konoha was great, and Kei would never think of leaving it.

Kei followed the scent for 20 minutes when they finally spotted Mizuki ahead. The idiot Chuunin was lazily jumping tree to tree with the scroll strapped to his back. Kei and Makoto stopped.

Kei summoned his newest ninken Pico. Pico was a pug like Pakkun, and was actually Pakkun's younger brother. Kei put a henge on Pico, so he wouldn't be recognized and tied the note Makoto had written out, telling the Hokage their position, before sending the dog off.

The pair didn't need to talk as Makoto rushed off. Kei followed behind but kept his distance as he watched his partner. He already knew what Makoto was going to do, and Kei just waited for his turn.

Makoto dropped down in front of Mizuki and surprised the traitor. While Mizuki was off balance, Kei dropped down behind the Chuunin, cut the strap with the scroll, and took off with the scroll secured. Once Kei was clear, Makoto attacked the Chuunin and quickly incapacitated him. Kei stared down at the traitor, trying to see if there were any physical signs that screamed traitor.

"Doesn't he work at the academy?' Kei asked.

"I think so." Makoto responded.

"Well at least he was considerate enough to wait until after the graduation before betraying the village. Now the Hokage has a few weeks to replace him." Kei pointed out.

"Huh... I guess idiots can be smart sometimes. I'm sure the Hokage will appreciate his actions. He might even give Mizuki here a cell with a view." Makoto said as he lifted the Chuunin up to carry him back to the village.

o.O.o

Sasuke sat across from his new instructor on top of the school and tried to keep the annoyance off his face. He was annoyed at how long the man had made them wait, but once he learned whom the instructor was, he felt a little resigned to his fate.

Hatake Kakashi had shown up three hours late. Sasuke remembered how the prodigy he had searched for had also turned up late- from the expectant and accepting actions of the Konoha spectators- he had instantly known that his Jounin instructor would always be late. At least the man would teach him something worthwhile.

"How about you introduce yourselves one at a time." Kakashi broke Sasuke's thoughts.

"Introduce ourselves? What are we suppose to say?" The fangirl beside Sasuke asked.

"Things you like, things you hate, dreams for the future, hobbies; things like that." The Jounin smiled at them. Well, Sasuke thought, he smiled at least- it was hard to tell with the mask.

"Why don't you start and show us how it's done?" Sasuke felt a headache coming when Naruto spoke. He didn't know what he did to piss off Kami. He had somehow ended up on a team with one of his biggest fans, and the Uzumaki. Sasuke could just see the God sitting in a cloud laughing at him. Maybe he wasn't paying enough attention to Yuki, that might have brought this on.

"I'm Hatake, Kakashi, things I like and things I hate, I don't feel like telling you. I have one dream for the future, and I have several hobbies. Your turn pinkie." Sasuke smirked at the answer. He answered all the questions but kept everything completely vague.

"I'm Haruno, Sakura," 'Haruno is her name!' Sasuke thought. He was thinking it was Hamtaro or something. He never bothered to learn his fans names. "I like..." Sasuke rolled his eyes when the girl giggled and looked at him. "My hobbies are..." Sasuke held in a sigh when he heard more giggling. "My dream for the future is..." and more giggling, "and to kill Yuki!" Sasuke felt a wave of anger enter his body at her words. 'Like she could ever kill Yuki, Yuki was too good of a ninja to die by Hamtaro's hand. Plus, Yuki was already a spirit...' Sasuke decided to plot different ways to make Hamtaro's shinobi experience terrible.

o.O.o

"And what do you hate?" Kakashi asked.

"Naruto!"

Kakashi silently sighed at the girl's exclamation. He was glad Kei would never go through this stage where he was more concerned at the opposite sex and dating, than being a shinobi. Kakashi knew he had trained Kei well, and so maybe he left Kei a tad bit ignorant and naive, but it was for Kei's own good. Kakashi wouldn't allow for some giggling silly little girl to try and take Kei away.

"Okay blondie your next." Kakashi said getting back to the introductions. He only did this as a formality, he honestly would only remember them if they pass his test, and that was a big 'IF'.

"I'm Uzumaki, Naruto! I like ramen and spending time with Iruka-nii. I hate the three minute wait for instant ramen, and you since Iruka-nii says that people with white hair and face masks are bad." Naruto loudly talked about himself.

"But my hair is more a whitish grey than white," Kakashi interrupted, "and this is a protective face tool, hardly a face mask." Kakashi smiled at the blonde as if to reassure him about his statement.

Naruto scouted forward and squinted his eyes as he examined Kakashi, as if trying to see through any lies floating about. "Well I guess your hair is more grey than white..."

"Exactly so your statement of white haired people and facemasks doesn't apply to me. Now let's carry on with your introduction." Kakashi wondered if Anko was busy. He knew she recently thought a new torture technique that involved a rusty shuriken and hot sauce, and now Kakashi was positive that Iruka would be the perfect volunteer for her to test it on.

"My dream is to one day be Hokage! Believe it!"

"Okay now you in the middle."

"I'm Uchiha, Sasuke. I have very few likes, and several dislikes. My dream for the future is to rebuild my clan with Yuki at my side."

Kakashi was surprised at the answer. He thought Sasuke might sit there brooding about wanting to kill a certain someone, but instead he seemed more inclined to live a normal life. Well as normal as a shinobi's life can get. Kakashi was also curious about this Yuki character. She was mentioned twice, and it seemed she was the leading lady in Sasuke's love life. He wondered if she was the reason he was more reasonable about his future plans.

"So" Kakashi clapped his hands together. He just spotted Kei leaving the tree he hid in, and decided to wrap up this fun little party. "Tomorrow we will meet early. All the information is in these scrolls. Don't eat breakfast; you'll just puke it up." Kakashi threw a scroll at each Genin and took off. He didn't feel like waiting around for their questions or loud comments.

o.O.o

Makoto sat on a branch, his back resting on the trunk, and one knee bent. Kei sat on the same branch but leaning back, using Makoto's bent leg as a back rest.

"So you think he will pass this group?" Kei asked as he looked down on the three Genin sitting in the clearing below.

"No. I don't think your brother will ever pass a Genin team." Makoto answered honestly.

"Hmm...I think these ones will pass." Kei responded.

"Is that opinion based off their skills, or your biased view on the Uchiha?" Makoto leaned forward a bit.

"Biased opinion?"

"I know you go to visit the Uchiha a lot. I just never figured out why. Or why you dress like a girl."

"It started with a promise, but then he started eating dango with me, so I kept returning." Kei smiled at his partner.

"A true Hatake, an answer without an actual answer." Makoto sighed.

The pair returned their attention to the clearing when Kakashi appeared. They watched while the Jounin explained the rules to his test, and the trio disappear into the trees.

Kakashi stood around doing nothing for a few minutes before settling down against one of the posts and pulling out his book. Kakashi let out a manly giggle at the same time the blonde one jumped out of the trees and tried to attack.

"And blondie emerges first, and tries for a frontal assault. Number One Hatake is forced to stand, but not put away his book, as he easily dodges each attack. Blondie is getting frustrated as his attacks get wilder. Oh, Hatake appears behind the blonde and is that a tiger seal? Yes it is! Here comes Hatake's favourite move 'Thousand years of Pain!'. Ouch and blondie got some good air on that poke." Makoto narrated.

"Oh, he's in the water!" Kei excitedly added.

"And he emerges looking happy to be here. Oh in a surprising move blondie retreats."

"Oh, but it looks like another hopeful is taking their chance to attack. A wave of kunai and shuriken fly through the air and they hit!" Kei narrated.

"Too bad they hit a log instead of everyone's favourite Jounin." Makoto mocked sighed in disappointment.

"The trees are moving, it looks like the culprit is on the move."

"Silence has enveloped the testing area. Who will make a move first?"

"A girl's scream has just torn through the air. Do we have our first victim?" The pair moved further up the tree to see the girl lying on the ground. "Oh it looks like our Pink Princess has fainted."

"Oh, but her knight in orange armor has appeared!" Kei pointed out.

"Too bad it seems he got caught in a trap, before he could help her."

"Oh, look in a nearby clearing the Lonely Heir is battling it out with Nii-san."

"Wow, that's an impressive fire jutsu from a Genin, too bad it failed and our Lonely Heir is now stuck in the ground." Makoto reported.

"Lonely Heir might be saved; Pink Princess is up and walking towards him."

"Ohh, too bad she fainted again."

"The Orangeball escaped the trap, but too bad he got caught in another one."

"Things don't look too good for this trio."

"Oh, Orangeball is free, but it seems he's trying to eat the lunches." Kei said in a disapproving tone.

"Oh, he got caught by Hatake and is now tied to the post."

"Lonely Heir is up and waking up Pink Princess. She seems a little chatty."

"Lonely Heir seems determined to get those bells, but... there's the whistle and the test is finished." Makoto announced as he slumped against the tree. "Well Kei, looks like they failed.

"Not yet, there's still part two." Kei pointed out.

Makoto returned to reporting the scene below. "Hatake approaches the group, and now he's explaining something."

"Probably talking about teamwork." Kei added.

"Oh things picked up again. Hatake is now sitting on top of Lonely Heir, and holding a kunai to his neck. Pink Princess is about to cry, and Orangeball is looking confused."

"Look Nii-san just gave them their second chance. Now they can try to redeem themselves."

"And they just might. It seems Lonely Heir is actually offering his lunch to Orangeball, and Pink Princess is literally feeding the blonde. Well it looks like a team has finally shown the potential to pass Hatake's test."

"Look Nii-san is back. He looks upset."

"After a discussion with the hopeful Genin's, Hatake has passed them. For the first time in Konoha history, Hatake, Kakashi has passed a Genin team." Makoto was actually surprised at the turn of events.

"I told you they would pass." Kei stated.

"Well that wraps up today's event. Kakashi-sama will have his work cut out for him with this team."

As Kakashi and his new team left, Kei turned towards Makoto with a bemused expression. "Makoto weren't we suppose to report in at 10 am for training today?" He asked.

Makoto looked up to see the sun directly overhead and sighed. "Why did we ever join ANBU?"

o.O.o.

Reflections on Reality gave me this omake prompt

**OMAKE**

Kurenai happily hummed to herself as she picked up the necessary ingredients for latest plot from the drawer. Someone had been stealing her white powder and she was determined to find out who. She bought two new makeup jars, and some unknown white powder that would irritate the skin. She mixed the mystery powder in one of the jars and set it on her makeup table. She hid the second one for her own use. The thief was in for a little surprise if they tried taking her makeup again.

A few days later, Kurenai entered her room to see the contaminated makeup jar gone. Smiling, Kurenai decided to go out and celebrate her little success. She got dressed up put on some makeup and left to meet Asuma at the bar.

Halfway through the night, Kurenai felt her face heating up and getting itchy. She tried to ignore the feeling but it got worse. Finally, when Asuma asked if there was anything wrong with her face, Kurenai rushed home and looked into the mirror.

Kei was sitting in a tree reading when he heard Kurenai's shriek. He giggled to himself as he took the non-contaminated makeup jar from his bag. The kunoichi should learn you can't trick a Hatake.

* * *

'I Spy'- Congrats to webpixie and DemonicPride2001 for guessing 'Barrel of Monkeys'. I'm still waiting for DP2001 to get back to me on their prompt.

I thought it was funny when I thought of it. I do have a Barrel of Monkeys, it was the theme of my last birthday party

Next: In the bathroom, I Spy... something that is a clumsy person's best friend.

Monopoly: Kei and Makoto- 14, Izumo and Kotetsu- 3, Kakashi- 4, Kurenai- 8

Next Question: Reflections of Reality asked 'Who would win in a prank war? Kei and Kakashi or Naruto and Iruka?'

Bonus points for whoever writes a mini story in their review. I love when I get to read them.

P.S Jakkaru means Jackal. I had a few curious people.


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

Warnings: _Language, OC'ness, Het, Slash, underage, fluff, smut, and abuse to the author, Loss of Kei's cuteness._

_Beta's: FEARMEfrancis, Kyuubi n oGoddess_

**Accidents Happen?**

Kei stared at the five men in the room and inwardly sighed. He had been captured while on a mission, and he felt like punishing himself, for getting caught by five idiots. He decided it was time to reflect on how he ended up in this situation, while the five of them sat idly by boosting their own egos and trying to figure out how to open his summoning scroll.

Kei and Makoto had been assigned a mission that every other shinobi village ignored. It wasn't difficult or dangerous, but no Kage wanted to waste their shinobi on a pointless mission. The Land of Noodles had asked for help with an underground vigilante group that was growing. They mainly did petty theft, and graffiti.

The only reason the Hokage sent them on this mission, was word got around that this vigilante group, was trying to auction off some secret documents they claimed they stole from the Leaf Village. Following the golden rule 'Better safe than sorry', The Hokage sent them out. Their mission was to find the hideout, break in, recover the scroll, determine if it did contain village secrets, replace it with a dud, and then get out. They were not allowed to kill anyone or let anyone know they were there. Apparently, if they wiped out the group it would be like a claim that the Land of Noodles was under Konoha protection, and that broke one of their treaties.

The mission had been doomed from the start. Kei had a cold, but the Hokage was sure that the pair could still pull off the mission successfully. They found the hideout, got in, and found the scroll. The scroll did contain information, but it was nothing to bad. Still information about the Leaf, was still a threat, so they planted the dud.

Kei summoned Ranmaru to hold the scroll, and just before he dispersed Ranmaru the door opened and revealed five men. Kei's nose was out of commission so he never smelled them, and Makoto was too busy double-checking the dud to sense them, until the door opened. It was bad luck that they managed to see Kei return Ranmaru and the scroll, to his summoning scroll.

Makoto jumped to hold them off while Kei blasted away a window to escape. Kei was just climbing through the window when he heard Makoto scream in pain. He turned around and saw that the five men were surrounding Makoto and they all had swords. Makoto was kneeling on the ground, holding his left arm, and glaring at the men. Kei didn't hesitate to jump back into the room, and attack.

Kei managed to attract four of the men to him, and he had yelled at Makoto to get out. Makoto had tried to argue, but Kei demanded he leave, and promised to be right behind him. Makoto left through the window, just when Kei took out his katana and started swinging back at the men.

Kei only second guessed his decision for sending Makoto away when his sluggish senses failed to warn him about the man approaching from behind. Three events happened in quick succession; Kei cut one of the men across the chest, knocking him back and out of the fight, he sneezed, and some jerk snuck up behind him and knocked him out when his actions paused.

When Kei woke up, he was tied to a chair, with rope, and the five men were debating on how to open his summoning scroll. Kei kept his eyes half-lidded to prevent the men from knowing he was awake, and surveyed his surroundings. Kei knew they wouldn't be able to open the scroll, and if he died Ranmaru would just take the scroll to Makoto and then make sure it got back to the village, but he preferred to escape and prevent that.

Kei found a small window that was partially left open, and was close to a shadowy corner. If Kei played it right, he could get out of the terribly tied knots holding him, silently sneak over to the window, and get out without alerting the men. Then he could hang around until he saw the group split up, and he would target the man holding his summoning scroll, before leaving and tracking down Makoto. Kei mentally nodded to himself, and stealthily checked what they left on him.

Kei was stunned at the pure idiocy of these men. They left everything. He had his weapon pouches, katana was by his feet, and his mask and armour were still in place. Kei briefly thought of disobeying the Hokage and doing the world a favour by just killing these stupid men. The thought quickly passed since no one should disobey the Hokage. Well, not on big things like breaking a treaty.

Kei slipped a shuriken out of his left leg pouch and started slowly cutting the ropes. He kept an eye on the men, just in case one of them decided to check on him.

"Well maybe if we wave a dog biscuit, the dogs might pop out." One of the men said.

Kei almost sweat dropped. Did they honestly think waving a dog treat would summon Ranmaru?

"Dogs do like treats."

"Do we have any dog biscuits around?"

Well Kei could always leave a few puddles around the dead bodies and blame the entire killing on Mist. Mist was always a go to village to blame things on.

"Idiots! A dog biscuit won't work." Kei mentally cheered for the man. One of them was smart. "There's two dogs, we need at least two biscuits." Kei wanted to whimper. He thought too soon.

Kei was almost through the rope, when he felt an oncoming sneeze- the tickle in the nose, the slow build up, his nose naturally scrunching up. Kei cursed his cold. It was the worst possible timing to sneeze; he was almost free. Kei desperately tried to remember that old shinobi's trick to stop sneezes. _'Was it hold your breath? No, that's not it. Was it steady your breathing? No that's hiccups...Huzzah! It's stick your tongue to the roof of your mouth!'_ Kei mentally cheered, but didn't react in time to prevent the sneeze.

"Choo!' Kei sniffled a little after the sneeze, and blinked away the small tears that had formed. When Kei looked up after shaking his head a little, the five men were staring at him. "Yo?"

The men blinked at him. Kei blinked back. The men blinked again. Kei blinked back.

"Are you a girl?" Kei looked at the man who spoke. If Kei guessed correctly, he was the one who dashed his hopes earlier for a smart capturer.

"Why do you ask?" Kei glared at the men. They couldn't see because of his mask, but he still glared.

"That wasn't a man or boy like sneeze." Another one spoke.

"Is the Leaf so weak they had to send a little girl out here?" the Hope-Dasher spoke.

"I'm not a girl! How do you know I'm from the Leaf village, I could be from Mist." Kei scoffed at them. He knew he had a slight fever, and it was probably the reason he was acting like this. Normally he would be silent.

"Mist really? Why did someone from Mist break into our hideout?"

"Uhh... to steal the scroll?" Kei tried.

"Wow! News of our information made it all the way to Mist!" One of them cheered.

Kei dropped his head in shame. He was going to get back at the old man for letting him get caught by this group. '_You'll be fine, A cold is nothing to worry about'_ The Hokage said, _'You're skills can overcome any weakness from a silly cold.'_ He told them. Well the old man better watch his Hokage hat, because when Kei got back he was going to fill it with pudding! The bad pudding, because he didn't want to upset Makoto by using the good kind.

"Maybe we should ask him to open the scroll?" Kei watched as one of the men held his summoning scroll out. Kei knew it was his chance.

Kei cut the remaining rope with one swipe, dashed forward, and swiftly snatched his scroll back. Kei slowed down and turned just in time to avoid the wall. He was about to dash through the men again and leap out the window, but he was overcome with a wave of dizziness. Kei stumbled and placed a hand on the wall to steady himself as his vision blurred and the world tilted.

Kei started coughing and instinctively leaned forward as he gasped for breath. When he looked up, the men were advancing on him with swords drawn. Kei felt himself panic. He was sick, his body wasn't working, Makoto wasn't around, and he didn't know what to do. He desperately wished for some miracle to happen that would take him away from this place, and possibly into Makoto's arms. He missed having his partner by his side.

As if his body heard his wish, he felt a strange energy rush through his body. The coughing and wheezing was pushed aside, as his body felt like it was being squeezed through a small tube. Kei clutched his summoning scroll harder as he endured the pain for a second. With a pop, the pain left, and he felt himself laying on a warm surface.

Kei opened his eyes and saw a stunned Makoto lying underneath him. Kei blinked at his partner. He didn't understand how he had come to literally land on top his partner when seconds ago he had five men about to kill him.

"Koto?" Kei softly asked.

"Kei!" Makoto snapped out of his shocked state and instantly wrapped his arms around Kei. "I was on my way back to get you when you failed to show up at the meeting point." Makoto explained as he sat up and crushed Kei in a hug.

"Koto I'm tired." Kei whined as he buried his face into his partner's chest. He didn't know what the weird energy was, but it made him even more tired than he was before.

Makoto stood and swung Kei around so he was resting on Makoto's back. Kei wrapped his arms and legs around his partner. "We'll talk more about how you escaped once we get back to the village." Makoto whispered before running off.

o.O.o

Kei woke up half way back to the village, and discovered an exhausted Makoto, still carrying him and running. Kei tapped Makoto's chest with one finger to get his attention. When Makoto let him down, Kei gathered some chakra and summoned Taka. Kei felt close to passing out again from the small action, but stayed awake long enough to climb on top of his ninken with Makoto and say "Taka home."

Kei woke again when Taka's barks broke through his dreams. He slowly opened misty eyes to see the Konoha main gate approaching. Kei looked to the side to see Makoto peacefully sleeping underneath him, and Kei felt a little bad for having to wake his partner. They couldn't ride Taka up to the gate, in case he would get recognized. They were still in ANBU gear, and since they hadn't signed out as Chuunin, it would be too suspicious for them to suddenly waltz back into the village.

Kei woke Makoto and sent Taka back. The pair slowly walked towards the gate. Makoto had one arm around Kei's shoulder to steady him as they walked, and Kei was leaning heavily on his partner. His body felt like rubber, his throat was sore, and his head heart. Kei didn't like having a cold.

When the pair finally stumbled into the Hokage's office, the collapsed on the floor and stayed there.

"Are you two alright?" the Hokage asked. He received matching whimpers in response.

"Guards, one of you please get a medic-nin." The Hokage ordered.

No one spoke, or made any noises until a medic was hastily rushed into the room.

"Honestly, you think you would be a bit nicer when bringing someone to the Hokage!" The medic scolded the ANBU who dragged them in. The man glared at the ANBU before turning towards the Hokage. "You summoned me?"

The Hokage smiled at the ruffled man and merely pointed to the foot of his desk where the two collapsed ANBU were laying.

"Oh." The medic-nin quickly bent down and went straight to Makoto. The blood soaked bandage was a beckon, demanding attention first. After a quick scan, the medic unwrapped the wounded arm, and cleaned the cut, before rewrapping the area.

"The taller one has a deep cut on his left forearm, but that is now cleaned. The only other thing he seems to be suffering from is exhaustion. A few days rest and he should be fine." The medic declared in a professional tone.

Next, he scanned Kei, and frowned. "The smaller one isn't suffering from any injuries besides a bump on the back of the head. He has a bad cold though, and developed a fever. He will need longer to recover than the taller one, and I would recommend you don't put him back on duty until a few days after he gets over the cold." The medic quickly stood, bowed to the Hokage, and left.

The Hokage stood from his seat and walked around his desk to actually see the pair. Sarutobi chuckled when he saw the duo. It seemed that Kei hadn't wasted anytime in climbing over to his favourite sleeping spot. Kei was already draped over his partner's chest.

"Inu, Jakkaru, are you both still awake?" he asked.

Makoto groaned and Kei gave a light snore.

"Ah, so Jakkaru I shall direct my questions to you. Can you speak?" Makoto groaned again.

Well let's stick to yes and no questions then. What sound will you make for yes?" Makoto clicked his tongue.

"and for no?" Makoto groaned.

"Good good. Did you complete your mission?" Click.

"Did it go smoothly?" Groan.

"Let's go through the list then. Did you get the scroll?" Click.

"Did you plant the dud?" Click.

"Did you get caught?" Click.

"Were either of you captured?" Click.

"Was it you?" Groan.

"So Inu, then. Did you rescue him?" Groan.

"Do you know how he got out?" Groan.

"Do you know if he killed anyone?" Groan.

"Well I guess we will need to wait for him to wake up. Can I at least see the scroll?"

Makoto stayed silent.

"Inu hid it in his usual manner didn't he?" Click.

The Hokage sighed as he returned to his seat. Maybe he shouldn't have sent Kei out with a cold. Sarutobi shrugged that thought off, after all what was the worst that could happen? Kei was already home safe, and resting.

o.O.o

Kei walked into the apartment, rubbing his nose. He would have used the window, but he didn't trust himself that high up and sick. Makoto had taken off to buy a large amount of chicken soup, after he dropped Kei off at the communal door.

Kei stumbled into the living room, and headed towards the bedroom, when a familiar voice stopped him.

"Kei-chan?"

Kei turned to see Kiba sitting on the couch.

"Kiba-kun?" Kei softly questioned. He didn't want to aggravate his sore throat.

"Are you okay?" Kiba asked as he stood up and walked towards Kei.

"I have a cold." Kei's body supported his statement by letting out a few wet coughs.

"Eh? Kei what are you doing walking around then? You need to get to bed!" Kiba said as he ushered Kei into the bedroom.

Kei watched as his friend closed the bedroom door, and turned around to address him again, but stopped.

"Kei-chan, when did you join ANBU?" Kiba asked.

"Eh?" Kei didn't understand what Kiba was thinking, until he looked down. Kei was still wearing his ANBU uniform, with his mask in his right hand. "Oh."

"You can tell me later, right now you need to rest." Kiba quickly interjected.

"Kiba-kun, why are you here anyways?" Kei decided to ask instead of preparing for bed.

He didn't know why, but Kiba's cheeks pinked a little.

"Oh... um... well I was originally planning to ask you to go to dinner with me. See I saved all my money that I earned from D-rank missions, and I wanted to take you out for a really nice meal. I know I have been ignoring you lately, and I really miss you so I wanted to catch up..." Kiba explained.

Kei was touched at his friend's words. "I would really like that. But where's Akamaru?"

"I left him in the kennel, I wanted the dinner to just be the two of us." Kei watched as Kiba's cheeks deepened in colour.

"Kiba-kun, are you feeling sick too? You're really red." Kei asked while he stepped forward and put a hand on his friends face.

"No, I'm fine. But you should really get some rest." Kiba answered.

Kei sighed as he removed his armour with practiced ease. He lazily tossed the dirty gear into a corner. Kei removed his sandals, then took off his mask. It was gross. Kei looked towards Kiba and saw his friend standing there with a slightly glazed expression.

"Kiba-kun?"

"Kei-chan, I can see your face."

"You were bound to see it sometime." Kei shrugged. Kei reached down to remove his shirt, and had it halfway off when Kiba stopped him.

"Eh? Kei-chan what are you doing?"

"Getting undressed?"

"But I'm standing right here." Kiba pointed out.

"But I've undressed in front of you before." Kei didn't understand what was wrong with his friend today.

"I know, but then it was different." Kiba nervously bit his bottom lip.

"Oh." Kei was too tired to care, and continued to pull his shirt and pants off. When he was done, he looked around for his sleeping yukata. Seeing it across the room, Kei sighed. The distance was only a few steps, but with his tired and sick body, it looked like a vast field full of traps and killer animals.

"Kiba-kun, can you get my yukata?" Kei asked as he turned to his friend. Kei titled his head as he saw another glazed expression on Kiba's face. Maybe Kiba was really sick, and just didn't want to worry Kei.

"Kiba!" Kei called.

"Eh?" Kiba snapped out of his thoughts.

"Can you get my yukata?" Kei pointed towards the mentioned robe.

"Sure..." Kiba quickly averted his eyes and walked across the room. When he came back, instead of holding it out, he walked close to Kei and stood directly in front of him. Kei looked up into his friend's eyes, and Kiba slowly draped the yukata over his shoulders.

Kei stared into Kiba's eyes for a few seconds when he felt Kiba's hands slowly close the yukata. "Kei-chan, there's something I want to tell you."

"I already know." Kei responded. Kei smiled softly when he saw the surprise enter Kiba's eyes.

"How?" Kiba anxiously asked.

"I figured it out. You don't have to hide anything from me Kiba."

"Kei-chan..." Kei watched as Kiba smiled.

"Really Kiba, I don't know why you tried to hide your sickness from me. But no worries you can rest here with me, and Makoto will be back soon with chicken soup." Kei didn't give his friend a chance to respond as he dragged him over to the futon. Kei climbed in and pulled Kiba down. Once the older boy was settled, Kei settled into a familiar position from sleepover pasts. "I missed this." Kei sighed.

"Me too." Kiba whispered as he wrapped his arms around Kei.

Kei smiled as he drifted off to sleep. Sleep was good. Not only was he back with Kiba, but he knew that a giant bowl of soup would be waiting for him when he woke. Maybe being sick wasn't all bad.

o.O.o

Kei spent a few days getting better. Kakashi had tried to stay, but Kei and Makoto kicked him out of the apartment reminding him he had a team to train now. Kiba stopped by often to see Kei, and always left Akamaru at home. Kei felt bad that he was separating the duo, but then remembered that Kiba was back at his side, so he got over it.

When he got better, Kei discovered something. He was bored. Kei and Makoto still had a few days off to rest, and after training all morning they were bored. That was when they decided to see Kakashi. It would be a great time to see how his team was coming along.

Their plans were interrupted when another ANBU dropped down in front of them and handed Kei a scroll. The feline ANBU didn't wait for a response before taking off again.

Kei slowly opened he scroll and held it up so Makoto could read the missive over his shoulder. It was a message from the Hokage informing Kei that Danzo had finally been released. Kei knew the man had been given a few extra months after a small prisoner uprising he tried to stage, but he didn't know that time had passed by so quickly.

"Should we go to the council rooms?" Makoto asked. There had been a post script informing Kei that the council was gathering to discuss whether Danzo should be allowed back on to the council.

With a small sigh, Kei rolled up the missive and tucked it away. "Yeah might as well." Together the pair changed direction and went to the council chambers. Well they went after a pit stop for dango and pudding, and stopping at a blacksmiths to browse the new wares. It wouldn't be right if they showed up on time.

Kei and Makoto seamlessly slipped into the council chambers. It seemed like they arrived at a thrilling point.

"Absolutely not! Danzo has been an upstanding member of the village for as long as I remember, and because of one false accusation from a child, his reputation went to shreds. Now you are trying to prevent him from participating in the village after he has served his wrongfully given sentence. I don't think Danzo is the problem, but maybe it's you Sarutobi." One of the council members yelled across the chambers.

Kei didn't waste time in dashing across the room and putting a kunai to the old woman's throat. He didn't care for the woman in the first place, and now she was practically starting a mutiny against the Hokage.

"Watch how you address the Hokage." Kei growled at her. Kei happily noted that no one rose to help the old hag.

"Kei-chan, I think you can let Koharu-san go." The Hokage patiently said from across the room.

"Yes Hokage-sama." Kei quickly put away his kunai, after preventing himself from cutting her hairpin, and then body flickered back to his partner. Kei was glad that his facemask hid his grin, when he watched as the swirling leaves from his jutsu accidently smacked the old hag in the face.

"What is that brat doing here?" Homura asked.

"I thought it was best that the victim from Danzo's crime be here as witness when he is released." Sarutobi informed his councillor.

"Who cares about the kid, we were discussing letting Danzo back onto the council." Koharu impatiently barked.

"His presence has been very beneficial to the village in the past, and I don't believe we should let such a valuable resource slip through our fingers, merely because of one small indiscretion in the past." Homura supported his old teammate.

"Small Indiscretion! He hardly committed some small fucking indiscretion, when he tried to rape a child. He's fucking sick! A monster!" An irate looking woman harshly barked out. A volley of noises followed her statement, mainly sounds of agreements.

"There was no proof that he had any intent on raping the child in question. We shouldn't condemn a man simply on one accusation. "Homura argued.

Kei casually walked over to the Hokage's seat and took the spare brush from the scribe, and started writing on the scroll from earlier.

"What is he doing now?" Koharu asked in a scolding tone. She clearly didn't approve of Kei taking liberties in the council chambers.

"I'm making a poster." Kei simply answered.

"Why are you making a poster?" Koharu's tone didn't change.

"Well I figured that the population of Konoha would like to know that Danzo is walking among them again. I know my Nii-san and a number of parents would appreciate an announcement. I'll even read you what I wrote so far." Kei cleared his throat and lowered his voice a little for effect.

"_Dear Citizens of Konohagakure, I Hatake, Kei, the once victim of Danzo, would like to inform you that Danzo is now free and walking the streets once more. As his former victim, I happily announce that he is fully supported by Utatane, Koharu and Mitokado, Homura, to be among your children_."

Kei placed the scroll back on the table and gave it a contemplative look; "I'm still trying to think of a closer though."

"How dare you!" Koharu shrieked.

"Was using 'Dear' to informal?" Kei asked while sending the indignant old hag an innocent look.

"No you insolent brat, How dare you write such lies down."

Kei looked at his poster, looked at the old hag, looked at his poster, looked at the old hag, and shrugged. "Are you saying that you didn't just stand in this chamber supporting Danzo's re-admittance to the council? Because maybe you should clarify your stance, so the rest of the council members aren't confused on whether you support Danzo or not." Kei calmly stated with a slight child-like infliction in his voice.

"Don't twist my words little boy. There is no evidence that he would have done anything to you." Koharu hissed.

"Yes, but the five young men and two young women that we found last month say differently. An ANBU patrol stumbled upon the group, and brought them to Ibiki and Yamanaka. They have a seal preventing them from speaking too much, but what we have gathered is that they were taken when they were young. Danzo had kidnapped them and raised them underground in his ROOT program. We don't know if he merely raised them, raised them and trained them, or raised and trained them, plus something more."

Kei stared of the Hokage. He didn't know any of this. Looking around the room, he saw that all the council members were slightly paler and staring at the Hokage in disbelief.

"Well I think that concludes this meeting. Anyone still want to support letting Danzo back onto the council?" Sarutobi asked.

No one raised his or her hand.

"Then you're all dismissed. Kei-chan, Makoto-kun, could you two please meet me in my office, I have a request to ask you." Kei simply nodded his head, and walked back to his partner.

Together they left the room, but not before Kei flicked his wrist and sent a shuriken flying backwards. He didn't need to look, to know that a certain hairpin was now in pieces. The shriek following them was like music.

o.o.o.o.o.o

OMAKE! This was inspired when I was baking cupcakes the other day. Also partially explains Good Pudidng from Bad Pudding.

**Omake**

Makoto thought his latest C-rank mission would be a breeze. He didn't know how, but somehow helping at the Daycare had been labelled a C-rank. He politely refused Kei's help, thinking Kei wouldn't actually help but add the the number of children being watched, and left home.

When he arrived the workers were relieved to see him, and quickly assigned him to potty duty. Makoto had to help each child go to the potty and then clean up the resulting mess. He wasn't impressed. After the fifth kid peed on him Makoto was ready to tie every child up, drop their pants and tell them to all pee in the potty or else his kunai were going to go through their throats. He kept his violent thoughts to himself though.

When snack time arrived, Makoto was faced with a dangerous situation. The other workers had left. Literally ran out the door when the clock chimed snacktime. Makoto stared down at the army of brats. The all held a mischievous glint in their deadly little eyes, that promised pain and suffering if Makoto didn't deliver. They watched him as if he was a piece of dying prey as he slowly made his way to the kitchen area.

Makoto had barely turned his back for a second when they fierce predators swarmed him from behind. He was brought to the ground as one section broke off and plundered the cupboards. Another section tied him up, while the third cheered and started systematically destroying the contents in the fridge.

When he saw the terrifying little beasts mixing Kami-sama's gifted pudding with pickled plums, raw fish, and wasabi, Makoto whimpered. Why didn't he bring Kei again? Kei would have saved him from the advancing demons that held the evil contaminated pudding.

* * *

I made a poll! Well I was aimlessly looking at the tabs in the profile thing, and I decided to check out the tabs I have never clicked before.

When I got to the poll area I decided to make one! Some people have already discovered it and voted (it's been up for awhile) but now I'm telling everyone here!

I Spy: The answer was the towel rack/grab bar. I don't know how many times I saved myself by grabbing that thing and not crashing painfully to the ground.

Question Time: Who would win in a fight; **Kei or Darth Vader**.

Damn... I'm a huge Star Wars fan and I really don't want to vote against Darth Vader, but Kei is like my fiction baby so as a Fiction Parent I don't want to vote against my baby. Tough choice for me.

**This is just my little rant. Ignore if you will**.

I enjoy writing, I really do. I can take criticism and whatnot, but there's one thing I don't tolerate. That's self imposed ignorance. From the beginning, I have had a slash warning at the start of every chapter. It' been there since chapter one. I briefly asked if Kei should be in a gay relationship, and that's it. It was not a big huge debate if the story should eliminate slash as a whole. Why? Because I live in world where there are straight couples, and there are gay couples, and I don't see a single thing wrong with that. This story will have both straight and gay couples in it, end of debate. There won't be anything graphic like a full on sex scene between two males, or a man and woman. There will be implied stuff, but no sex scenes. So please stop sending me messages asking/saying/demanding that there be no slash. In case you're scared; Kakashi, Kotetsu, Izumo, Kurenai, Asuma, Naruto, Sakura, Gai, Ibiki, Makoto, Anko, Sai, Ino, Choji, Lee, Tenten, Neji, Hinata, Ron, Hermione- all going to be in a relationship with someone from the opposite sex. Anyone I haven't mentions is probably due to the fact that I haven't thought of a pairing for them yet, or they will be gay. Sorry, but it's not a debate anymore. Anyways, if you're still reading this I thank you, and apologize If you were seriously routing for a certain pairing, that might not come to pass. As a consolation and a thank you for taking time away to read the rant, I invite you to drop a pairing and/or prompt for Newton's prize counter, and I'll see if I can write you a one shot. I'm being awfully lazy and I don't want to think of an I Spy. Mainly because I was going to use T.V but 'Black shiny rectangle in the living room' may have been way to easy.


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

Warnings: _Language, OC'ness, Het, Slash, canon fodder, fluff, smut, and abuse to the author, Loss of Kei's cuteness._

_unBeta'd_

**Wavering Waves**

Kei circled right, and Makoto circled left. Both were intensely staring. Kei broke the formation first, and stepped forward to poke the solid and sturdy object. Makoto stopped and poked the other side. Kei poked again when they garnered no reaction. Makoto poked harder, and sighed when they still got no reaction.

"Are you sure he's not broken?" Makoto asked the Hokage.

They had been called into the Hokage's office, and informed that they had a new teammate. Sai was one of the few shinobi they discovered a month back. They were still having trouble getting rid of the seal, but the Hokage decided to place Sai on a team and observe his actions. The lucky team was Kei and Makoto.

"Maybe he has an 'On' switch." Kei offered as he poked the pale dark-haired boy in front of him again.

"Kei can you please stop poking Sai..."The Hokage sighed. He didn't think this through.

"He doesn't have any facial expressions. I'm not even sure he's blinked since he entered the room," Kei pointed out.

"Yes well, I have also noticed this issue that is why I got this book for Sai to read." The Hokage took out an orange book, and placed it on his desk.

"Hokage-sama, I don't think that's an appropriate book to teach someone emotions and acting normal." Makoto hesitantly argued.

The Hokage gave a cough to cover his laughter, while eyes danced with mirth at Makoto. "Ah it's not that type of book. It's the first book in the Shogi Master series. I figured it was a good place to start for a teenage boy."

Kei perked up at the news. "I like that book. It's when Satoshi is cleaning out his grandmother's basement and finds an old fan with Shogi written on it in kanji. When he opens it, he's possessed by an old Shogi spirit, which wants to play one last epic game before he can passes on. "

Makoto gave the Hokage a blank stare, "You want him to learn how to possess someone and die?"

"No, but I think he will learn from Kei, and Kei is obviously excited about the book."

The pair turned back to Kei, and found the young shinobi sitting on Sai's shoulders, holding open the book, and pointing out his favourite parts.

"-and this is where Satoshi meets Shigeru, who will later be his rival and best friend... and this part is where Satoshi meets Shigeru's mother, who is a world famous Shogi player, but she's really cold and later you find out that she had Satoshi's father murdered because he was going to expose her for fraud..."

"Did you think about this through Hokage-sama? I hardly think Kei is the best example..." Makoto whispered to the Hokage. He loved Kei dearly but truth be told, Kei was a terrible person to model yourself after; he was too much like Kakashi.

"Do I have to act like this?" A monotone voice broke through the endless chatter from Kei.

Makoto turned to see a blank faced Sai pointing up to Kei, who was still perched on his shoulders, talking about what he should expect from the following four books.

"Sai-kun, why don't you wait outside and start on that book, I just need to talk to Kei-chan and Makoto-kun for a bit."

Kei stopped summarizing the book, and jumped off Sai so the older boy could leave. He even graciously handed back the orange book. Once the pale boy was out of the room, and the door closed, Kei faced his partner and the Hokage.

"You want us to observe and note everything he does, and warn you if he goes anywhere near Danzo-san, right Hokage-sama?" Kei's voice lost its childlike enthusiasm from before, and was strictly business.

The quick changed shocked the Hokage a little, but he didn't let it show. He sometimes forgot why Kei was labelled a prodigy, but the intelligent boy in front of him was a stark reminder.

"Yes. We know the seal weakened since his imprisonment, and that's why we found these shinobi slowly emerging, but now that he's out, were hoping he will lead us to his ROOT base, and we can determine if there's more shinobi waiting for him, and anything else he may have experimented on in there. "

Kei and Makoto both nodded their heads in understanding and patiently waited for the Hokage to continue.

"I will give you a few days to train with him, assess his abilities, and learn a way to work him into your partnership. Also you will be put on temporary leave from ANBU for this mission."

Kei remained impassive to the news, but Makoto couldn't stop the slight tightening of his mouth to show. They had worked hard to be the best tracking team in ANBU, and now they were pulled from duty. Neither liked it, but they couldn't argue against the Hokage, plus this new mission was very important.

"Since this is an important mission, I can hardly have you two performing it at a mere Chuunin level," the Hokage reached down and brought up two flak jackets. "Congratulations Makoto-kun, Kei-chan, I promote you to Jounin."

Kei's blank mask broke as he stared wide-eyed at the Hokage. Makoto took a deep breath before letting out an explosive sigh.

"Jounin?" Makoto whispered.

"But I'm only ten," Kei whispered at the same volume as his partner. Kakashi had been promoted to Jounin when he was 13 years old, but Kei was only 10. He couldn't have possibly beat his brother at something.

"Looking at all your successful mission reports, the raving reviews from your ANBU instructors, and your excellent team work, it wasn't a hard choice, I know you both would do well as Jounin."

"Jounin..."

"10..."

Sarutobi chuckled at the pair. It was rare that he got to see his well-trained shinobi like this. He took a moment to savour the shocked and disbelieving expressions on the pair's faces. Too bad, he didn't have a camera ready, It was especially nice to shock a Hatake. Kakashi was just too Kakashi some days...

"It's customary for new Jounin to at least accept their new jackets..." Neither boy moved. "I could always take back to promotion."

Both boys leaped forward and grabbed their vest possessively. He knew that would do the trick.

"Good good, just come to the missions room in 3 days and I will give you a nice easy mission to test out your new team."

Both boys nodded and left. Kei through the window, and Makoto through the door to talk to Sai.

o.O.o

Kei, Makoto, and Sai entered the mission room slowly, and with a bored air. The last few days had been interesting. Kei and Makoto had been so used to just having the other that they sometimes bumped into Sai when practising, and stepped on his feet. They always apologized, but they had to take a few steps back and work from the basics to at least grow semi-accustomed to the other boys presence.

They could now safely fight, and Sai wouldn't have sore feet. Once that was done, they tested Sai's fighting ability one on one, and were impressed with what they saw. Sure the whole ink thing was weird at times, but it was also very useful. Sai was built for tracking and Information gathering.

Kei stepped aside as a Genin team shuffled out, excitedly whispering about their C rank mission. Kei remembered his first C rank mission... well he certainly couldn't forget it. Kei touched his chest briefly before focussing his attention on the Hokage.

"Hokage-sama we're prepared to take our first mission as a team." Makoto spoke up. Kei studied his two partners, trying to decide which one would be better to climb. While Makoto was taller and more used to him hanging off his back, Sai offered the opportunity to be the same height as his long time partner.

Kei decided.

He jumped in the air and placed his hands on Sai's head to steady himself as he swung his legs over the pale boys shoulder's and settled down. He then put his elbows on top of Sai's head and rested his chin in his hands, ready to listen to the Hokage.

"Well I think it would be best if you started with a simple C rank missions for your first time out of the village together. If you had been here earlier-" he paused to direct a stern look towards Kei. Kei shrugged his shoulders, and look unfazed, "-then you could have had your pick, but I'm afraid I only have one C rank left. You can come in now!"

Sai and Makoto turned towards the door that was opening, and the three watched as a old man with a Sake bottle stumbled in.

"This is Tazuna, and he had requested an escort to Wave Country to build a bridge. You just need to get him to Wave, and protect him from bandits and such." The Hokage explained. He held out a scroll that Makoto quickly accepted and the group walked out.

Once outside, Kei slipped off Sai's shoulder and looked up at the client, to study him.

"Well two of you are fine, but why the little brat? He can't protect me," Tazuna spoke with a gruff tone, swinging his Sake bottle willy nilly.

"I assure you Tazuna-san, that Kei-chan is an excellent shinobi. He graduated the academy at the age of five, and recently promoted to Jounin status. In a one on one fight, he even beat Sai here." Makoto patiently explained to the drunkard.

"So girly boy there is better at fighting than ghost boy? Well I don't like my chances of survival than."

Kei saw that his partner was getting frustrated dealing with the drunk man, so he stepped in. "Maybe we should step into the cafe over there, and discuss how we will best protect you on your travels. I think tea and dango would be nice as we talk through this." Kei smiled cheerfully at the client and skilfully directed him off the street.

As they were sitting down, they missed seeing Kakashi and team 7 returning with Tora. Kei knew his brother was nearby but he had a mission, and couldn't go seeing Kakashi and Sasuke whenever he wanted.

o.O.o

As soon as they stepped out of the village, Kei smelled something off. With each step they took, he could smell two enemies getting closer. The wet undersmell warned him that they were from Mist, but whether they were shinobi, or missing-nin he didn't know. The smell was slightly distorted and faded a bit, so Kei was banking on the latter presumption.

Kei turned to Makoto, and smiled at his partner while signalling him about the two hidden nin. Makoto gave him a cheeky smile in return, and casually drifted back to Sai, and started up a conversation about which parchment shop he likes best. Tazuna seemed completely bewildered by the conversation, but they worked it out as a verbal signal to warn Sai, since he didn't have the years of practise in their silent communication.

Kei smiled at Tazuna, and skipped beside the old man. Kei kept up a charade of appearing oblivious and like a child, even when he passed a puddle.

'Honestly, a puddle? It hasn't rained in days, and they expect a puddle to be inconspicuous. This is why I always blame Mist' Kei thought.

Kei, Makoto, and Sai weren't surprised at all when two chains flew out of the woods and tried to trap Makoto. Makoto swiftly deflected them while Kei and Sai dived into the woods, and flushed the two attackers out.

When Sai and Kei emerged quickly behind the attackers, Sai dropped back to protect Tazuna while Kei and Makoto, lined up side by side and faced their opponents. The both frowned when they stared directly at the Demon Brothers.

"Why are you attacking us?" Kei asked. His tone was light and curious, not reflecting his tense and battle ready stance.

"Meiza, looks like we get to fight the Carnage Canines."

"Gozu, I have been hoping this day would come."

"Kei..."

"Coordinated attack battle eh?"

The air was still as the two pairs stared each other down. The sounds of the forest shut off, and the wind stopped as each pair prepared for an attack. In the distance, a leaf fell to the ground, and once it touched the earth, the pairs jumped towards each other.

Makoto ran in front, as Kei rushed from behind him. Kei ran up his partners back and used Makoto's shoulder as a springboard into the air. From above he sent down a shower of shuriken, and Makoto slammed his hand down into the ground, using an earth jutsu so have to dirt shoot up in spikes.

The brothers dodged in opposite directions and swung around to attack them by using a pinch method. Kei landed on the tip of one of the spikes and withdrew his two medium tessen. Makoto threw two handfuls of senbon towards Kei, as Kei swung both tessen out, creating a wind current. The current caught the senbon and divided them, sending them on a new course, directly at the charging brothers.

The brothers weren't quick enough to get away, and each suffered from one arm being full of senbon. They dropped back to change their tactic, and instead focussed their attacks on Makoto, hoping to get rid of the stronger of the fighting pair.

Makoto didn't even blink at the new strategy as he stood still, and waited for the brothers to get closer. At the same time, the brother thrust out their good arms, and sending shuriken chains at Makoto. Makoto gave them a pitying smile, and continued to stand still. Before the brothers could wonder at his actions, both of them were yanked back by their bad arms. Looking behind them showed Kei standing on the earth spike, holding multiple wires that led back to the senbon still imbedded in their arms.

They went to reach and remove the senbon, but their good arms were pulled back. Slowly turning they saw Makoto calmly standing in the same spot, but holding two wires. The wires lead to the end of two kunai that were firmly wrapped around their chains.

Suddenly, both their arms were nearly pulled from their sockets as Kei and Makoto harshly pulled on all the wires. The brothers barely had time to register the slack that came after the pain, as they were forcibly dragged to the same tree, and tied up together, their arms hanging uselessly by their sides.

"Now you are going to tell us why you were following us and the attack, or we will use this," Makoto smiled at the brothers as he slowly took out a familiar red and black scroll.

Both brothers whimpered at the sight. They read about the red and black scroll that was the cause of all the pain and carnage that the pair in front of them left behind. It was rumoured to have evil spirits living in it that would rise up and slowly and painfully eat the victims soul, some even whispered that the scroll was the reason for the little one's eternal youth. That with every soul it consumed it meant that the partners would be forever young and handsome.

"Okay okay we'll talk just please don't open that scroll!" Gozu cried.

"Start talking then," Kei commanded as he sat down in front of the brothers.

o.O.o

"So you are going against this Garo, Garu... G person, and he wants you dead. But you couldn't pay for an A rank mission so you lied to Konoha, and are now asking for us to continue to protect you from this Gono bono guy, right?" Kei asked the old man in front of him.

After the interrogation of the brothers, Kei had sent a message off to Konoha for a pick up team. Once the letter was off the group turned towards Tazuna and started questioning him.

"Er... yes?"

"Sure, sounds like fun!" Kei happily replied as he turned and started walking. Makoto stopped him, turned him around, and directed him the proper way to Wave Country.

"So what is Gato doing to your village exactly?" Makoto asked while Kei jumped onto his back. Makoto was infinitely glad that they always sent their packs to Taka, or Makoto wouldn't have been able to carry his pack and Kei at the same time.

"Well, it started when he bought all the shipping companies..." Tazuna spent the next few hours detailing to the team all about the evil acts that Gato did around his village, and how all the villagers were struggling. He passionately spoke about how his bridge was going to bring prosperity back to Wave Country, and help put a stop to Gato's reign of terror over them all.

"From your words, I think that arriving quickly as possible would be our first priority." Sai spoke up for the first time that day.

Tazuna seemed genuinely taken aback form the monotone statement, and stared at the pale boy. Makoto gave him an encouraging smile, but Kei lit up, and jumped off Makoto.

"Right, Sai has the right idea, so we'll run. Tazuna-san can't run on the trees like us, but I have an alternative method of travel for him."

Kei withdrew one of the scrolls attached to his flak jacket, and nicked his finger off one of his kunai. He dragged the bloody finger down the scroll, before slamming it into the ground. When the cloud of smoke cleared, Taka stood at the ready, tongue hanging out of his mouth slightly.

"Tazuna will ride Taka, and the three of us will run on the trees, watching for any more attackers."

Sai and Makoto nodded in agreement before jumping into the trees. Tazuna stood still, looking at the massive dog in front of him.

"Where did this dog come from?"

"He's one of my ninken. This one is Taka, but there's still Ranmaru and Pico." Kei explained.

"Are they all this ... massive?" Tazuna asked, while not taking his eyes off Taka.

"No. Taka is the biggest."

"And you expect me to ride that?"

Kei happily nodded.

"I need more Sake for this shit."

o.O.o

Kei knew they were coming, but couldn't get a warning out fast enough. He could smell the blood from the one, miles off.

They had been close to their destination when a giant sword came swinging at them. Kei was happy to note that Sai seemed to have sensed the danger in time, and pulled Tazuna down before the old man could lose his head.

Kei glanced up and watched as a tall man with bandages and cow print leg and arm warmers landed on the handle. Kei looked around trying to spot the second man that was lurking about, but the leaves obstructed his view. Kei signalled to Makoto and Sai that there was still a hidden enemy.

Warily watching the man in front of him, Kei stood up and stretched, exaggerating each movement, and taking long pauses.

"Zabuza-san, it's nice to meet you." Kei threw out.

He only needed a decent look at the man's face to recognize him. The bandages added with the giant decapitating sword gave the S rank missing nin away.

The large muscular man leaned forward a bit and squinted his eyes at Kei, before releasing a deep and harsh barking laugh.

"Hatake-chibi! I heard that the famous copy-nin had a little brother, but I didn't expect you to be an almost spitting image. Killing you won't be as satisfying as killing your aniki, but knowing how he will cry will work for now."

Kei smiled sweetly up at the man. "I'm sure Nii-san will also feel sore about missing this fight."

Zabuza let out another harsh laugh and a hand sign.

"Sai I think it would be best if you took Tazuna and continued on. Me and Makoto can handle Zabuza and his friend hidden in the tree's." Kei suggested but with an underlining commanding tone.

Sai nodded and grabbed Tazuna's hand, dragging the old man away from the approaching fight. As much as he would have liked to join in, he knew that his presence would only get in the way and throw off Kei and Makoto. They had a rhythm from years of fighting together, that Sai wasn't worked into yet.

A dark heavy mist started filling the area, as Kei and Makoto stared down Zabuza. Makoto left to confront Zabuza's partner, and Kei stayed still as he took in every detail of Zabuza that he could.

Kei knew he was a decent fighter. He could hold his own, but he was best when working with Makoto. His small size usually put him in a disadvantage, but he could take down high ranking Chuunin, and some smaller Jounin. Facing a S rank missing nin, with a giant sword and more blood thirst than his desire for dango, didn' t increase Kei's favourable odds.

When Makoto came crashing back into the clearing with a masked boy, Kei moved. He moved swiftly to his partners side, and countered a shower of senbon that was falling with one swish of his tessen. Kei spun in a circle and used the side of his tessen to stop the blow that was coming from a Kunai wielding water clone of Zabuza.

Makoto threw shuriken at the masked boy, as Kei did a jumping back flip to land on Makoto's shoulders, and threw more shuriken to hide in the shadows of Makoto's initial attack. Kei jumped off Makoto's shoulders and faced Zabuza once more. He sent a small apology to his brother and rushed forward.

Kei was tired. They had been fighting for a long time and each side were supporting injuries. Makoto was stuck in an ice prison on his left, and Zabuza was in front of him, sporting just as many cuts and bruises as Kei. At some point Kei had lost all his tessen, and was now down to relying on his trench knives, to at least hinder Zabuza a little.

Zabuza rushed him again, wielding his huge sword. He stopped using water clones awhile ago, and Kei was grateful. Zabuza slashed his sword down, and Kei countered by raising his knives and bending with the hit, to absorb some of the impact. Kei saw an opening and went to dive forwards, when his body seized up.

Kei couldn't explain the sensation, but it was close to his body being pricked several thousand times all over, and his muscles in his legs refusing to move. The same thing happened before but in a smaller dose. Kei would have cursed loudly, but his teeth were clenched together.

Kei barely registered when he felt a boot heavily connect with his chest. He was pushed to the ground, and Zabuza stood above him triumphantly, grinning down at him, while he dug the heel of his boot further into Kei's chest.

"What happened there Hatake-chibi? Looked like a seizure." Zabuza let out another harsh barking laugh as he idly spun the giant sword in his right hand- narrowly letting it avoid Kei's face.

Kei didn't respond. Instead, he glared up at the missing nin, while hoping Makoto would find a way to get away.

Zabuza dropped his sword, letting it plunge into the ground, inches from Kei's face. Kei watched as the man let out another harsh laugh, and then turned his left palm up in a familiar position. His fingers clenched as if grabbing something. A small tiny black spark went off in Zabuza's palm before more started sparking and clumping together. Kei's eyes widened at the sight.

"Wait what is that?" Kei hurriedly asked.

"This little boy, is an old Mist jutsu, handed down from master to pupil. Only one person is suppose to know it at a time, but... well I'm not very patient." Zabuza continued to let the black chakra in his hand grow, his eyes lighting up further with each second.

"But what does it do?" Kei asked again.

"The dead shouldn't talk." Zabuza snapped.

"But I was hit with that before!" Kei argued. He always wondered what that jutsu was, and now he had a chance to learn about it.

"Impossible. This is a one hit kill. It's said to turn all the muscles in a person's body into liquid, and then burn it inside out in seconds." Zabuza bragged. The black chakra was almost complete.

"I was really hit with it! Years ago, but I stabbed the man before it hit; it was almost faded before it hit me in the chest." Kei was taking a chance, and he hoped it paid off.

Zabuza seemed to pause at that statement. "You were really hit?"

"Yes." Kei wanted to cheer, maybe he wasn't going to die yet. "The Medics couldn't find anything wrong with me, but I always wondered what that jutsu was. I had a friend ask around but no one knows about it, not even Kisame."

"Kisame? That fish freak wouldn't know about it. The Shark bastard never bothered learning Mist history. Plus who would want to talk to that creepy asshole." Zabuza went of on a tangent.

Zabuza looked down at Kei and seemed to be studying him. "How do you know Kisame?"

Kei quickly looked to the side, to see that Makoto was still busy with the masked person before answering. "A friend of a friend, that can't be known as a friend?" Kei offered.

Zabuza studied him for another moment before slowly lifting his foot off Kei's chest. "This will be interesting."

o.O.o

Kei and Makoto slowly dragged themselves through Tazuna's village. Both were heavily bloody and beaten, but alive nonetheless. Makoto was dragging a large sword behind him, while Kei had a white hunter-nin mask hanging precariously from his fingers.

When they arrived at Tazuna's, Makoto collapsed instantly, while Kei stayed upright long enough to inform Sai that Gato wouldn't be sending any more assassins. Once the message was delivered, Kei collapsed right on top of Makoto and welcomed the wonderful darkness that would relieve him of his tired and aching body.

* * *

So someone wanted this, and I'm too lazy to check back who asked for it, and I'm sorry, but here is this week's omake.

**OMAKE**

Kei stealthily sneaked from one shadow to the next as he roamed the Konoha marketplace. He had his own self-imposed mission that the Hokage would never agree to, but he knew the old man would appreciate it none the less. Kei was putting up a poster.

Kei approached his chosen pole, and excitedly withdrew the homemade poster from his pocket when he ran into a problem. How was he going to make it stick?

Well, being a shinobi and creative in most ways, Kei knew he could think of something quickly. He opened his weapon pouch and looked at the contents: wire, kunai, shuriken, senbon, tape, and bandages. Well this was an east choice. Kei pulled out four shuriken and used them to stick the four corners of the poster to the pole, Sensing someone approaching, Kei hid.

Kei watched as the market filled up, and a crowd started forming around his poster. The crowd started with whispers than expanded to anger filled shouts. Kei may have helped them along by posing as an old woman, and spreading even more rumours about the topic, but he preferred to ignore that part and let the villagers think what they will.

When lunch rolled around the whole village was well aware, the Danzo was out and about, supported by two fools, was half squid, and was secretly trying to dig a hole under the village so he could make it collapse in itself, since he was bitter about his imprisonment.

Kei walked away just as Danzo entered the market. Kei couldn't help but giggle with certain vendors hid all the shovels and gardening tools they owned, while the rest of citizens glared at him. Kei knew he did a good job that day. Now, to complete it, he needed dango.

* * *

So, its been bust the last few weeks, and only seems to be getting busier, I apologize for the long waits.

Kei beat Vader. It was a tough battle, but in the end Kakashi popped in and well who wants to mess with a man with a bad brother complex?

oneshot prizes will be posted soon, there was just a backlog of requests.

Question: Who would win in a fight? Kei or Harry Potter

P.S- is being weird.. this took me 5 days to upload sine it wouldnt let me near the upload page


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer**: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

**Warnings**: _Language, OC'ness, Het, Slash, underage, fluff, smut, and abuse to the author, Loss of Kei's cuteness._

_**Beta**__: FEARMEfrancis_

(Cause it's the) **Chuunin Countdown** (5 4 3 2 1)

Albus Dumbledore smiled as he sat down to tea with his old friend Arabella Figg. It was a Sunday so he had time to quickly step away from Hogwarts and visit her. He made sure to be able to visit Bella once every two months over tea, and catch up.

The afternoon started as it always did, Bella served tea and biscuits, Albus told her some funny anecdotes about the students, and she regaled him with tales of the latest adventures her cats went on. Close to the end of the afternoon when the tea was getting cold, and the biscuits almost all gone, Albus asked after young Harry Potter.

"Oh just wonderful just wonderful... You always see him and his cousin walking round the neighbourhood. Just last week I was walking back and passed the park, He and his cousin were surrounded by kids and were laughing and having a good time. I still don't know why you worry so much, he seems to have grown just fine." Bella went on.

"Well you know how it is, I just wish for him to have a normal childhood before he enters the magical world in a few months. "

"I'm sure boy with be fine, and he will have his family to support him. I always see his little black head bouncing along beside his cousin blond one. Nearly inseparable those two."

"I was thinking of seeing the boy today... " Albus trailed off.

"Oh Albus today won't work. I saw the Dursleys all get into Vernon's car earlier and drive off. I think they had a day tripped planned to London. The boys won't be back til diner at best."

"Maybe next time then. Now tell me more about Mr. Tibbles."

o.O.o

Kei, Makoto, and Sai stood 50 metres away from the Konoha gate, merely staring at it, all lost in their own thoughts. Kei wore the hunter-nin mask sideways on his head, while Makoto had the giant sword, carefully wrapped and strapped to his back. Sai -Kei didn't want him to be left out of the souvenirs- was standing around wearing Tazuna's hat.

"Kei, you need to see Rikoto." Makoto sighed as he raised a hand to rub the bridge of his nose. "Refusing to walk through the gates is only prolonging it, and if you make me wait out here another minute I will make Rikoto stretch out the appointment as long as possible, and not give you dango at the end." He threatened.

"I don't see why I need to see him..."Kei trailed off as he slightly pouted and refused to look at the older Jounin.

"I read somewhere that when people pressure others to seek medical help, it's showing that they care." Sai piped in.

"Can we at least see Nii-san first?" Kei asked, directing slightly misty and pleading eyes towards his teammates. He knew he had to agree if he wanted his dango. Makoto could be so cruel sometimes threatening his treat.

"We should report back to the Hokage first, then go to the hospital, and end with seeing your brother," Sai rationalized.

"No! I want to see Nii-san first!"

Makoto gave a heavy sigh. "It's still early, so his team should be meeting at the bridge, it's on the way, so we can stop there first, then the Hokage, and hospital. Kami knows we never reported to the Hokage first."

"I find that agreeable." Sai and Makoto turned to get Kei's response but they found that the smallest team member was already dashing towards the gate.

o.O.o

Sakura could feel the pulse in her forehead growing as she had to stand around listening to Naruto ramble about useless things. All she wanted was to be able to stare at Sasuke, uninterrupted, or even have their stupid sensei show up so they could train.

They had been told that the Chuunin exams were coming up, but Kakashi-sensei didn't know if he felt comfortable nominating them yet. Sakura desperately wanted to join, just so she could show Sasuke how good of a kunoichi was, and hopefully steal him away from that Yuki.

She still hadn't discovered who this elusive Yuki was, but she knew that girl was somewhere in Konoha, sneaking through the shadows, trying to steal Sasuke away. Sakura absently clutched her hands into fists as she fantasized beating Yuki into the ground and having Sasuke sweep her up into his arms, and proclaim his everlasting love to her.

Naruto was telling his crush Sakura, all about the time that Iruka-nii had taken him to a neighbouring village for a festival. He was excitedly telling her about all the lanterns, stalls, and different food he got to try. At first, he didn't think she was interested since she seemed pretty bored with the whole conversation. He even feared he would get hit when she started clenching her fists, but then he started talking about the gold fish catching game, and she started smiling. Naruto was glad that he finally found a topic she liked, and started to regal her with the tale about how he caught 5 goldfish, while Iruka-nii couldn't even catch one.

Sasuke ignored his two idiot teammates. His thoughts were centered around what they were always centered around. Yuki. He hadn't seen the spirit in a awhile, but he wasn't worried. He knew that Yuki could take care of herself. Although he didn't know what possible trouble she could get into, being a spirit and all. Were there spiritual bad guys that she had to take care of? Did they have their own wars and missions? He wasn't sure, but he did know one thing. Yuki was becoming more human every time he saw her.

It started when he noticed she didn't look as pale. Then the week following he saw a smudge of tan skin peeking through. That's when Sasuke knew that all his prayers to Kami-sama, and all his love that he directed towards Yuki was working. It was because of his actions that he was being rewarded. Kami-sama was giving Yuki her life back, so she could spend it with him. There was no other plausible explanation for it.

In fact, Sasuke was saving all the money he could from his missions, so he could propose to Yuki soon. He already had his eye on a ring, and he knew which Sakura Tree he wanted to propose under. The only issue was asking Yuki's father. He didn't know if Yuki's real father was still alive, or would he have to find his spirit and ask, or if he had to ask Kami-sama himself. But how do you ask Kami to marry someone? He could assume that since Kami was giving him Yuki, that was permission, but maybe he should still speak aloud and ask anyways. It would be rude to forego asking Kami-sama for Yuki, and offend him. He might take Yuki back, and Sasuke couldn't risk that. He would ask Kami-sama.

Sasuke was broken from his thoughts when a familiar poof of white smoke appeared. He held in a sigh when he heard the predictable 'Yo', and when Sakura and Naruto instantly screamed 'You're Late!'. Honestly, it was getting annoying to repeat the same routine every day.

Except today there seemed to be something different about Kakashi-sensei. He was smaller, had two eyes, and had longer hair that was tied back in a high ponytail, with his bangs hanging in his face mostly covering his forehead protector.

_Kei smiled down at the trio in front of him when he appeared. He didn't know why he was being yelled at but he figured everyone had their quirks, it just seemed his brother was stuck with two overly eccentric people._

"Is my Nii-san around?" The Kakashi-chibi asked. Sasuke didnt' know what to think of this situation. So he kept his face blank... unlike the other two.

"Nii-san?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, I'm looking for my Nii-san, Kakashi. He's usually here around this time." Kakashi-chibi explained.

"Your older brother is Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, his face scrunched up, and his eyes squinted.

"Yup, I know we don't look a lot alike, but I swear we're related." Kakashi-chibi stated. The three gave him incredulous looks. Honestly even a blind person would be able to notice that Kakashi-sensei, and this chibi were related in some way. They weren't that oblivious.

"What? It's not that farfetched that were related." Kakashi-chibi was slightly offended that they didn't believe he was related to his Nii-san.

"You're Kei."

Kei turned his head to address Sasuke, since he was the one that spoke. Giving the Sasuke a smile, Kei responded "How did you know?"

"I remember watching you fighting in the Chuunin exams a few years back." That sentence seemed to click something in the other two's mind as their faces indicated that they had an epiphany of sorts.

"How can you be a Chuunin? You're what five?" Sakura asked in a slightly haughty voice. She was a little jealous that Sasuke was paying attention to the boy. He had spoken more to the boy this morning than he had to her all week!

"I'm ten, and I'm a Jounin," Kei told her. He kept his voice light so it wouldn't appear that he was offended or upset about the age comment.

The three just stood stock still, and stared at him.

And stared.

That's when Sasuke noticed something about Kei.

Kei had long white hair, and green eyes. The same shade as Yuki's. They looked to be about the same size, and if Kei were paler, he could a dead ringer for Yuki...

Something clicked.

It was so obvious! How had Sasuke never figured it out before? He saw Kakashi-sensei everyday and never thought about the similarities between his Yuki, and his sensei, but now lining up Kakashi-sensei, Kei, and Yuki, it was as clear as day. Yuki must have been Kei's twin and died at a young age. That was the only explanation for how closely they resembled each other.

Sasuke would have to talk to Kakashi-sensei about marrying Yuki, and hopefully after he reunites the family, and Kakashi-sensei learns about how it was Sasuke's love that helped bring Yuki back to life, he won't have any objections to the match. Now he wouldn't have to talk to himself asking Kami-sama-

A second cloud of white smoke materialized, and Kakashi-chibi lit up.

Kakashi gave his three shocked students an eye smile, and wave before saying "Yo."

"Nii-san!" Kakashi-chibi cried as he tackled Kakashi. Kakashi reflexively caught the smaller boy, and tucked him close.

"Kei when did you get back?"

"We got in this morning, and I came here looking for you, but instead all I got was these three, and they didn't believe we were related because we look nothing alike, and then I tried to convince them, but then they didn't believe I was a Jounin, and they kept staring, but then you showed up." Kakashi-chibi managed to summarize his time so far in one breath.

"And where is Makoto-kun? He isn't letting you wander alone is he?"

"I'm here." A two more people appeared, but the taller one spoke.

Kakashi turned greet Makoto when he noticed something strange. "Makoto where did you get that sword?" Turning to look at Kei, he took in a new accessory to his brother's appearance with narrowed eyes. "Kei where did that mask come from?"

"Well... um..."

"You see..."

"There's a good story behind this all..."

"Funny really..." Kei and Makoto hesitantly spoke. Both were trying to find a way to explain what happened by not exactly explaining...

"We need to go to the hospital and report in. I think now is a good time to leave." The pale boy that came with Kei and Makoto interjected.

"Yeah we can talk later Nii-san!"

"You always say I need to take better care of Kei, we're off now."

Taking the opportunity the three left as fast as possible.

Sasuke blinked as a flurry of activity happened. One second there were three unknown people, and then three puffs of smoke and they were gone, Sasuke wasn't even sure if they had really been there in the first place.

"Today we're going to catch Tora." Kakashi-sensei told them, still looking where the three had just been.

Sasuke felt like groaning along with the other two, but he held it in.

o.O.o

Kei sat on a hospital bed swinging his feet. Makoto was behind him, one hand on Kei's shoulder, giving his silent support. They were waiting for Rikoto to finish and give them the results of the tests he had run.

After a long talk to Zabuza, they knew this was a needed stop. The missing-nin had heard about a person being subjected to a partial black hand jutsu before, and had lived. Just not for long. Slowly his body had shut down on him and he died. Zabuza didn't know the exact details, just a summary.

Knowing this, Kei had told everything he knew to Rikoto. The sudden muscle twitches and mini seizures he had started developing over the last few years. How his muscles would freeze but then go again as if nothing happened. Makoto had even commented on his lack of growth. That was a sore spot for Kei.

Rikoto had listened and taken note of everything, asked a few more questions, and then started running tests. Kei was glad to see that his old teammate had grown so well, and became a wonderful medic. Kei's thoughts were cut short when the door opened and Rikoto stepped inside.

"Kei, I don't know what to tell you..." Rikoto trailed off as he looked over the clipboard in his hands. "Zabuza was correct in saying that your body is shutting down. Nerves, muscles, and even your heart is working towards a complete bodily shut down. Going over everything, factoring in the time this incident happened, and just everything... I think you have a few more years left. Two, three, four at most.

I can do a few experiments, dedicate some time to this and try to find something that will slow down the process even more to give you more time, but I don't think I could ever find a way to stop it."

Kei stared at his old teammate. Rikoto was sincerely upset and frustrated at the situation, and Kei felt bad for putting this burden on him. He had had time in Wave to get used to the idea. He knew he would die soon, in fact Rikoto's prediction was longer then Kei's.

Kei wasn't upset at the world or Kami, he didn't slip into a brooding state and wonder why him, he knew. He had taken a mission and it had gone bad. It happens to every shinobi. Most die, but Kei had just prolonged his life from that day. He knew the risks when he had taken the Genin exam, and he knew the risks when he stepped out of the village.

It wasn't ignorance or anything else, Kei knew he would die one day, and had accepted that the day he had first wore his forehead protector. He was a true shinobi, and he wasn't going to be upset about this. In fact, he was going to start looking for exciting missions so when he finally did go, it would be fun and a true shinobi death.

"It's okay Rikoto, I knew what the results would be." Kei softly spoke to reassure the medic. "You know with will cheer you up? Dango!"

With that, Kei jumped from the bed, grabbed both his Koto's hands and dragged them out. They would get dango, smile, and laugh, and just be happy for a few minutes.

o.O.o

Kei and Makoto stared down at the three genins below them. Kakashi had been mad when they finally told him the story of fighting Zabuza, and how they tried to hide it. As punishment he had told them, they had to train his Genin's for a week. Then he walked away giggling as he read his new little orange book. The man was evil.

"So what do we do with them?" Kei asked from the tree they were perched in.

The Genin's were standing on the bridge as usual, and were waiting for Kakashi. Only today, they would get Kei, Makoto, and even Sai if they ever found where the pale boy had hidden himself. Kei suspected he heard the punishment and made himself scarce.

"Well what did Kakashi-san do to train you?"

Kei closed his eyes and thought back to when he was three. Kakashi had tied him to tree, and told him he had to walk forward and get the kunai to set himself free. It didn't seem so hard until he realized that he was attacked to a bungee cord that would pull him back, and he had to walk across a swamp. That actually seemed like a great first lesson for the Genin.

"I got the perfect start," Kei grinned as he let out a slightly diabolical laugh.

The three Genin's waiting on the bridge felt a shiver of fear run down their backs.

o.O.o

"Come on! Push! I could do better than that on one leg!" Kei yelled at the three Genin's. They were all covered head to toe in swamp mud, tired, and all attached to a tree, trying to get to the elusive kunai that would free them.

"We've been out here two hours and you guys haven't even made it halfway!" Makoto followed up.

There was a trick to this exercise, but it seemed that the Genin had not figured it out yet.

"I beat this test when I was three!"

"You think you can get Chuunin with this type of performance?"

Kei and Makoto had fun all day heckling the trio. The simple trick to beating the test was to cheat. Either they were all too stubborn to do so, or to dim to think of it.

"I think they need a little motivation Makoto."

"Hmmm... I think so too. Fine." Makoto gave a twisted to the trio as they looked at him, "Naruto if you don't get yourself free in 30 minutes, I will have Ichiraku ban you from his stall for one month."

It took a few seconds, but once the implications sunk in, Naruto was off, fighting with everything he had to get to his kunai.

"Sakura..." Kei's turn, "If you don't get free in 30 mins... I will burn all your photo's of Sasuke-kun."

With an almighty and not completely human sounding roar, Sakura renewed her fight forward.

"Sasuke," Makoto quickly looked at Kei before smirking at the dark haired Genin, "If you don't get free, then I will make Yuki-chan promise to never kiss you again."

Sasuke took a moment to stare at Makoto, silently assessing if the Jounin could actually support his threat. While the man was Kei's partner –Sasuke didn't know why his heart hurt at that thought, or the rush of jealously through his body- the man couldn't actually talk to Yuki, even if Yuki was related to Kei and Kakashi, right?

Seeing that his threat wasn't working, Makoto tried a different route. "If you don't get free, I will give pictures of Yuki to Sakura to help Pinkie find her."

Sasuke glared at the Jounin for the threat against his beloved, without thinking Sasuke reached down and withdrew a kunai from his weapons ouch. He cut the cord and dove at the smug Jounin sitting in the tree.

The other two watched their teammate, and quickly copied his movements, also diving towards the Jounin. Sakura wanted those pictures, and Naruto wanted revenge for threatening his ramen.

The three never got a chance to fully attack though. Once Naruto and Sakura had cut their cords, Kei and Makoto had left the tree, and tied the three up. It all went by so quickly the Genin were still reeling.

"Well that's the first test done. Next we can move onto something harder." Kei smirked at the slightly terrified trio.

"B-but that was hard enough, and how did we pass? We never got our kunai, we cheated." Sakura whispered in a slightly hysterical fashion.

"Exactly. In the shinobi world, you can't always follow everything by the book. Rules will have to be broken. When stuck in an impossible situation such as that, you had to cheat, or find an alternate way to escape then the given one.

If locked in a fight, I'm not going to pull out my shinobi rules and regulations book, and look up my next attack. I don't care if they suggest capture and interrogation first, I will kill if I have to. If someone tries to kill Makoto, I will kill them first." Kei explained.

"One example is Kei and I went on a mission to Fang Country. The client had a strict capture only policy. We had to capture the thief who stole her jewels, and bring him and the jewels back. We found the thief and on the way back, he tried to poison Kei.

I kicked him where no male should ever be kicked then killed him. We brought back the jewels, but the client wasn't too happy about the dead thief. I didn't adhere to the mission guidelines, but I didn't care. I rather have Kei alive than the thief."

"Why do you two always talk about killing?" Sakura asked.

The Jounin could only stare at her.

"Sakura, shinobi kill, it's their job. If they didn't talk about killing I would be worried that they weren't qualified for their positions." Sasuke bit out. He was still a little sore that he couldn't land a hit on Makoto.

"I know, but..."

"Knowing and hearing is different right?" Kei leaned forward so he was more eye level with the girl.

"When in class I bet you never thought that you would be doing the killing you heard about. But now here, being part of a conversation about it, you are starting to panic. Taking a life is never easy. After my first kill, Nii-san had to spend a long time with me to calm me down, and accept the blood that I would always feel on my hands. You will kill, or you can quit now and be a civilian."

"That's hardly fair. You shouldn't bully Sakura, we won't have to kill for a long time." Naruto yelled.

"Do you wish to join the Chuunin exams?" Makoto asked.

"Yeah..." Naruto responded , unsure where Makoto was going with this.

"Genin kill each other during those exams. I killed when I was in them, and I bet Kei did too."

"This is boring and depressing," Kei said as he stretched upwards. "Let's move on to the Deadly Blue balls."

The Genin's all choked when they heard the next exercise.

"Sounds fair." Makoto added as he walked away with Kei. Together they picked up two large sacks and opened them.

"Okay let's start." Kei announced.

"Wait you never untied us, or told us what we have to do." Sakura pointed out.

"Oh it's easy. You sit there and we will throw these blue bouncy balls at you." Kei explained.

Without letting them talk anymore, Kei and Makoto started throwing the entire sacks of balls at the trio.

"It helps your pain tolerance!" Makoto yelled over their cries of pain.

o.O.o

Kei was aimlessly wandering the streets after his latest training session with Team 7. It was Day 3, and

they had all been so exhausted after the 'Treetop Pinball' round that Kei and Makoto had left them in the training field to rest.

As he was passing a side street, he smelled a familiar scent. Vanilla and lavender. Kei didn't even need to think as he took off to follow the scent. Kei followed the smell down several streets, before he ended up in the hotel district. Moving slowly, he weaved between the crowds, into a building, up the stairs, until he was outside a door.

Kei raised his hand to knock, but the door flew open. As soon as Kei saw that familiar red hair he jumped towards his friend.

"Gaara!" Kei cheered. Before Kei could hug his sand friend, a hand of sand rose and smashed Kei across the room, smacking hard into the wall.

o.O.o

* * *

Some people have expressed a wish to see more of the Wizarding world. I do read your reviews and take everything you say into consideration, that is why I added the first scene, and now this omake. You hardly ever read about Ole Voldie's time in Romania.

**Omake**

Voldemort cursed his life. Some little brat got lucky and now he was stuck switching between animals to live. Honestly, it wasn't fair. He worked hard for years to get his position in the Wizarding world, and a baby who couldn't even walk three steps beat him. Honestly, this was probably Lady Fate's way of punishing him for that one time he cursed her out when he was still in the orphanage. Some women didn't know how to let go of grudges.

Voldemort was so caught up in his brooding, as he slithered through the forest in his newest snake form, he didn't notice the man walking by until he was stepped on.

Stepped on! Him! The once great Dark Lord Voldemort was stepped on!

Voldemort didn't hesitate to twist his body and sink he fangs into the offending leg. Laughing hysterically in a hissing voice he continued to attack the leg, until he felt a pull. The man had magic.

Voldemort acted quickly, throwing everything he had at the man's magical core, latching onto like a leech. He started twisting himself around the man's magical core until he had enough control over the mind and body.

Taking his first step forward, Voldemort felt a new sense of purpose, and refinement. He was going to take back the Wizarding world. Except the first step led him headlong into a tree. Losing his balance Voldemort stumbled back and fell on a tree stump. Voldemort felt a spike go through his chest. With a sigh he fled the body and into a passing rodents. Just his luck he had picked a clumsy man. He needed a new body now… curse Lady Fate…

* * *

Apparently no one had any faith in canon Harry beating Kei.

Although a few thought that they would end up friends which is always nice.

Who do you think is a bigger pervert? Kakashi or Snape? (honestly Snape takes too much pleasure in assigning detentions and hitting students)


	26. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer**: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

**Warnings**: _Language, OC'ness, Het, Slash, underage, fluff, smut, and abuse to the author, Loss of Kei's cuteness._

_**Beta**__: FEARMEfrancis_

**Training Terrors**

"It's your own fault."

"I know."

"You shouldn't just barge in like that."

"I know."

"I mean all these years, not everyone recognizes a person off scent."

"I know."

"You should apologize."

"I will..." Kei sighed as he listened to Makoto scold him. He had gone running straight to Makoto after he was knocked into the wall, and told his partner everything that happened. How he smelled out Gaara, and followed it, how he tried to greet the boy with a hug and was smashed into the wall and then how he was upset and instead of staying, after being smashed into the wall, he fled. It wasn't just his body that was hurt from the clear rejection from a friend. Makoto had forced him to the hospital, but scolded him the entire way.

Now they were playing keep up, while the waited for the Genin to arrive.

o.O.o

Team Seven hesitantly entered the clearing they were supposed to meet Kei and Makoto. The entire week had had a bad effect on them. The physical stuff they could mostly handle, the mind games not so much, but Kei and Makoto had gotten bored and started laying traps everywhere and taking humiliating pictures once they were set off. Even the fear test, where they were strapped to trees and had weapons thrown at them, shrunk in comparison to some of the traps the Genin had been caught in.

Now as they entered the clearing they saw... well they weren't sure what they were seeing.

Makoto was on his stomach, lying on the ground with his arms and legs spread out. Kei was lying on his back, arms on top if Makoto's and balancing a blue ball on his nose.

Kei dipped his head and with a little flick up, the blue ball was sailing through the air. On the way down, Makoto lifted his head and caught it on his nose. He balanced it for a few seconds, before flicking it up, for it to be caught by Kei. The pair did this silently for a few minutes, passing the ball back and forth, until Naruto used up all his patience.

"What are you doing?" The blond loudly asked.

The pair just ignored them as they continued doing their weird activity.

"They look like seals," Sakura pointed out. She had long lost her infatuation with Makoto when he had pushed her into a lake, and told her to rub the mud into her hair so she wouldn't get them killed on a mission.

"I don't get what they're trying to do at all." Naruto added.

Sasuke just stood back and observed them. There had to be a point to this. Kei and Makoto may act like idiots but there had always been a lesson or a point behind their teaching. The swamp built their endurance and taught them that they would need to cheat in life. The fear test made sure they would never flinch at an incoming weapon. Even the traps made them more aware of their surroundings.

If Sasuke hadn't been used to Yuki's traps, he would have had more embarrassing photo's than he did currently. He got caught once and that was because Kei had tripped him.

Sasuke needed to figure out this exercise. Concentration, maybe? Well they both would need to fully concentrate on the ball to ensure it didn't fall, Kei was probably on top of Makoto so that the older Jounin would be more restricted, and the whole nose thing... made it harder?

"Hey are you just going to ignore us the entire time?" Naruto asked.

They were still ignored.

"What are you even doing?" Sakura asked after a little while.

They were ignored.

Sasuke watched, as Naruto steadily got more and more agitated at the pair.

"What are you two bastards doing?" Naruto finally exploded.

Slowly Kei stood, balancing the blue ball on his nose, and turned towards the trio. Makoto stood next and dusted himself off, before brushing down Kei. Sasuke thought those two were too comfortable with each other.

"We were just wasting time until you three got here...jeez you made us wait so long." The three Genin twitched at Kei-sensei's words. Kei and Makoto had made them wait hours every day just like Kakashi-sensei. The only reason they knew they weren't forgotten was because of the traps. Honesty did they not know how to tell time?

"Tomorrow is the start of the Chuunin Exams, so we will only do two things today." Kei told them.

"First we will have a tracking exercise, and the second something to help you mentally prepare for the exam." Makoto followed.

"Okay first things first, you three need to find Nii-san!" Kei Happily announced.

"Try to track down Kakashi-san." Makoto tacked on.

Before the duo disappeared, Kei flicked the ball in the air, Makoto hit it, and it landed on Naruto's head... soaking him. They had been playing with a ball of water... Sasuke was impressed.

o.O.o

After a long morning, Team Seven was ready to give up. They tried everything they knew to try to find Kakashi-sensei but it just wasn't to be. No one they asked had seen the Jounin, the other Shinobi weren't helping, and they lost count of the female civilians they asked that broke into giggles at the mention of Hatake. It was disturbing.

Naruto finally had it and with an explosive sigh dropped to the ground to sit. "We should just give up and got to Ichiraku's!"

"Naruto! Kei-sensei and Makoto-sensei assigned us this task, and I don't believe they would make us do something they weren't confident that we could complete. Maybe we just haven't been asking the right people, or using the right method." Sakura stated.

"Hn." Sasuke decided to contribute.

"Teme..." Naruto muttered.

"Baka." Sasuke shot back.

"I say let's get ramen and then continue searching afterwards. We need to you know... restore our energy or something to continue looking." Naruto tried.

"Hn." Sasuke said with an agreeing tone. If his teammates picked up on it, he didn't know.

"Fine, let's get lunch." Sakura caved. Even she had to admit she was getting hungry.

The trio made their way to the ramen shop, but kept their eyes open for any flash of white hair. They wouldn't put it past their sensei to drop down and interrupt their lunch plans.

When they finally reached the ramen stand, they were surprised to see three people already seated. Walking in the trio stopped and stared. Kakashi, Kei, and Makoto-sensei were all sitting on stools with steaming bowls of ramen before them.

But the truly surprising sight was Kakashi-sensei flirting with a giggling Ayame. It just seemed so wrong... Instead of letting them watch the strangely fascinating show, Kei turned around and smiled at them. "Oh you found him! We were getting worried. We spent the morning at the hot springs, but then we got hungry and came here. We thought you wouldn't be able to find Nii-san." Kei rattled off.

"Yes, did you actually manage to track Kakashi-san here?" Makoto asked while pinning the three of them with a stern look.

Not wanting to refuse and have to spend the afternoon looking for their sensei, the three quickly nodded and hoped Makoto couldn't read minds. Honestly none of them would put it past the Jounin to have that ability. He always seemed to know what Kei wanted or needed.

"Good then we can start on part two of the day." Kei cheered.

Naruto decided to interrupt before they were led away with hungry stomachs. "What about lunch?"

Kei looked behind him and stared at his full ramen bowl. "You're right..." In less than a second, the Genin saw Kei's hand move, and then the little Jounin was turning around with at hand on his stomach and empty bowl behind him. "Let's go!"

Sasuke would have joined in his teammates whimpering but he was an Uchiha, and Uchiha's didn't whimper. No matter how hungry they were, and wanted to strangle a certain Jounin that was standing in their way to food.

Kei happily left the stand, and when they trio considered ignoring the little Jounin and eating, Makoto stepped forward and glared at them until they turned around and left.

"It wouldn't have stayed down anyways." Makoto whispered before smiling at them and walking quickly to catch up to his partner.

"T-they said it was only mental prep right?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah... I bet it's like our bell test and Kakashi-sensei said not to eat... they don't mean anything by it," Naruto tried to reassure her.

Sasuke stayed quiet. He wouldn't put anything past the duo.

When they arrived back at their original clearing, they were quickly ambushed. Sasuke could hardly grasp the situation, before he found himself tightly tied to a tree, his teammates to the neighbouring tree's.

"What's going on?" Naruto yelled.

Sasuke glared daggers at the duo in the middle of the clearing.

"We said it was mental prep, and the best way to mentally prepare yourself for the horrors you will encounter during the Chuunin exam is a little bit of light torture." Kei said in that lecturing tone that he sometimes developed when talking to them.

"T-torture?" Sakura stuttered out.

"You wouldn't really, right? I mean you're both so nice and kind and stuff..." Naruto attempted .

He received two blank faces in response.

"Did you know that we are in the bingo books?" Makoto asked.

The Genin's slowly felt their brains shutting down.

"It's true, our own entry. It's right here." Kei took out a piece of paper from his hip pouch. "_The Carnage Canine's_."

"_This pair love to leave behind blood soaked torture arena's. Some witnesses have said that they laugh and play in the blood of their victims, while they painfully extract information_." Makoto read over Kei's shoulder.

"This entry we got from an Iwa-nin. They have quite the price on our heads."

"Kei, we probably shouldn't have punched that one official in the face and set his clothes on fire. I think he was charged for public indecency afterwards." Makoto added.

The three barely twitched a muscle after the revelation. Sure they knew that Kei and Makoto were Jounin, and they did certain missions, but to actually be in the bingo book, and have done that to another Elemental Nation...they had to have been taught by Kakashi.

"This is the secret to our success," Kei said as he held up a single black and red scroll.

Makoto reached out a hand and used one finger to lovingly stroke the scroll. "Yes without it, we would probably still be seen as the Cute Couple or Pretty Pair, whatever they used to call us. 'Seven Sadistically Satisfying Slaughtering Skills' has served us well."

Kei slowly unrolled the scroll, and held it so Makoto could see it as well. "Should we show them the Kunai Cushion, or Bloody Body Art?"

"You cut too deep last time you tried drawing the Hokage Mountain. We need them capable of doing the exam tomorrow."

The Genin's didn't know how, but they knew Kei was pouting under his mask , and that scared them more.

"Hmm... well Bone bowling is out, but how about the Killer Kebab?" Kei turned puppy dog eyes towards his partner.

"Yes I think that would work perfectly." Makoto took the scroll and rolled it back up before hiding it somewhere on his person.

"Y-you c-can't do t-that." Sakura weakly protested from her tree. All three of them were pale and terrified.

"Sure we can. You would be amazed at what you can get away with if you call it training in Konoha." Makoto answered. "In fact let's start with Pinkie."

The three Genin paled as the usually happy flowery atmosphere the duo had blackened, and their faces twisted in two evil masks. Their eyes seemed to get sharper, hair more menacing, and they swore the heard a faint evil cackle on the wind.

Makoto untied a trembling Sakura from her tree, and led her out of the clearing.

"What? W-where is he taking her?" Naruto demanded.

"Oh just out of sight, wouldn't want to ruin the surprise for you two." Kei responded as he dropped his flak jacket, and weapon pouches. He bent down and retrieved two kunai, before he started doing some small stretches. Kei left the two boys, walking away while humming a creepy tune.

Sasuke and Naruto didn't wait long before they heard Sakura screaming from the trees. Her cries were filled with pain, and sobbing, and neither boy could stand the sound. Naruto wanted to rush off and save his crush, while Sasuke was hoping he never heard Yuki sound like that, he didn't think he could save Sakura right now if he tried.

Suddenly the screams changed to pleading, "Not the arm, please not the arm.. what are...Oh My!... Ahhhh!... please don't, please, please, please...why? WHY?" Sakura begged and screamed.

The cries were silenced and only soft whimpering floated through the air and to the boys. The sound, while heart wrenching, gave them hope that Sakura was alive and conscious.

Gradually the whimpering was overshadowed by humming, as Kei walked back into the clearing. He had blood dripping from his hair, and both arms soaked. Happily humming he went to his pouches and pulled out a bottle. Turning to the boys, he gave the bottle a little shake "Need the spices," and walked away.

Sasuke felt like fainting.

Soon the smell of cooking meat wafted into the clearing, and Sasuke felt his stomach roll... they wouldn't? But part of him told him that they would. Carnage Canine wasn't just a cute nickname picked from a hat after all.

Makoto walked into the clearing eating a meat kebab and smiling to himself, and that's when Sasuke heard Naruto vomit. He couldn't mock the other boy when his stomach was demanding to do the same.

"So who would like to go next?" Makoto asked.

Sasuke finally did faint.

When he came to, Sasuke opened his eyes and noticed he was lying on the ground. Turning his head, he saw Naruto beside him, in the same position. It seemed the other boy had also fainted at the innocently asked question. Turning his head to the other side, he saw Kei sitting beside his head and staring intently down at him.

"Are you okay?"

Sasuke whimpered and tried to scramble away but his arms felt like jelly and gave out.

"Don't be scared, we didn't actually hurt her?" Sasuke took a moment to process what Kei had said.

"What?" Sasuke whipped his head around to see Naruto waking up, and rubbing his head.

Kei waited until Naruto was more coherent before repeating himself. "We didn't actually hurt her."

"What did you do then?" Sasuke demanded in a harsh tone. Sure the girl annoyed him, but he didn't want to see her hurt.

"Well we tied her to a tree and gagged her, then I caught a rabbit, and Makoto made a shadow clone, and used it to make girly screams, then we cooked the rabbit, seasoned it and ate it, but at some point Pinkie fainted, before we could offer her any."

"So you didn't actually hurt her?" Sasuke asked.

"That's what I said!" Kei emphasized by throwing his arms out in exasperation.

Sasuke stared into those green eyes, so much like Yuki's and could only think of two things; they had been tricked again, and Kei and Makoto were evil.

o.O.o

The Chuunin exams started out ... interesting. Kei had perched himself in a tree and watched from the window as Sasuke and Kiba took the written test. He had to stifle giggles when Ibiki tried acting all mean and gruff, but otherwise found the whole thing a bit boring.

He picked out so many people with terrible cheating skills that he itched to throw his own kunai into the room and get them kicked. But he couldn't.

Technically he was still suppose to be on bed rest from the nasty slam Gaara had given him, but he had escaped and had been fleeing Rikoto for two days. He wasn't doing anything to aggravate the injuries more, but he didn't want to be stuck in a hospital bed for days. He had gone to the hot springs and used the water to help heal him. He didn't use Makoto as a climbing post, and he didn't spar. Honestly, he was being a good boy.

As if disagreeing, Kei's shoulder and side twitched in pain. Kei readjusted himself to find a more comfortable position that took weight off that side when Makoto popped up.

"It's your own fault."

"I know..."

"Probably would have healed faster if you didn't run away all the time."

"I know..."

"Rikoto is standing behind you."

"I kno-" Kei turned slowly to see a furious looking medic-nin standing behind him; arms crossed, and tapping foot included. "Hey Rikoto..."

"Kei you are going back to the hospital right now!"

"But-"

"No! You are coming for a check up, and then I think I may have fond something to battle the small seizures you seem to be having lately."

Kei sighed and slowly stood up. Looking back through the window, he watched as Naruto stood up and started yelling about something, Shaking his head he left with Rikoto and Makoto.

"Koto can I have dango?" Kei asked.

"No!" They both answered right away. Kei pouted the rest of the way to the hospital.

o.O.o

Kei happily munched on dango with Anko. He had escaped the hospital room again, and found out that the second part of the exams had started. He knew Anko was in charge of this part, so he went to buy dango to share with the Jounin.

She was making the leaf symbol on the tree, and Kei was making a dango picture below it. All and all, it was a great afternoon. He was a little upset that he couldn't see Sasuke, Kiba, or Gaara before they entered the forest, but was happy they all passed Ibiki's test.

Just as Kei and Anko put the finishing touches on their pictures two shinobi dropped in.

"Anko-san, Kei-san, we have a problem." The first one spoke.

"What happened?" Anko instantly sat up.

"We found the bodies of three grass participants. Their faces have been stolen." The second produced the grass nins ID's.

Anko's face went blank. "They're in the forest. You two go and inform the Hokage, Kei were going in."

Kei stood up quickly to follow but stopped to turn to the two shinobi, "Wait! If you see Makoto, send him here."

The two nodded and quickly left, while Kei followed Anko in.

"Kei if it's who I think it is can you use your nose to find the scent of snake?"

Kei didn't question her, but lowered his mask to use his nose to its full ability. Sniffing the air, he caught the traces of several different snakes in the air, Anko, and another foreign one. It was coated in blood and death, and Kei knew that was the smell he had to track.

"Got it." Quickly taking the lead, Kei led Anko through the forest.

Kei didn't bother checking his speed, as he knew Anko could keep up. As they got closer and closer to the foreign scent, Kei caught another smell and faltered on a tree branch.

"He's near Sasuke..."

Anko spared his a glance but kept on running. "I think it's Orochimaru."

Kei nodded and kept tracking. He knew about the Missing nin both from his ANBU training and Itachi. He had a good guess as to why Orochimaru was after Sasuke.

Kei and Anko managed to break through the foliage just as, the person they both assumed was Orochimaru, jumped forward to try and bite Sasuke. Acting Quickly Kei jumped down, and withdrew his tessen. With a quick hand, he sent a wind blade at the freakishly long neck, and knocked the snakeman off course.

Not wanting him to recover and continue on his mission, Kei jumped into between Sasuke, and Orochimaru. As the grinning face turned back to continue on its course, Kei brought both tessen up to fight it off, but he underestimated the dexterity of that neck.

Orochimaru curved his neck and tried approaching Sasuke from another angle. Refusing to let his friend die or whatever Orochimaru was planning, Kei jumped back, and knocked Sasuke to the ground, and stood over top of him.

As Orochimaru tried a third time to bite Sasuke, Kei closed both fans, and placed one on Sasuke's neck, just letting the tip of one of Orochimaru's fang scratch the skin. Kei swung the fan away from the boy's neck, and threw Orochimaru with it.

Looking satisfied with something, Orochimaru neck retreated back to his body, as Anko appeared behind it, and grabbed it.

Kei chased after as Orochimaru escaped Anko's hold and fled. Following closely, Kei had to dodge out of the way, as Orochimaru sent vines towards him. He kept dodging, slowly inching closer to Anko who had engaged the missing nin in a fight.

Kei let out a sigh of relief when the vines stopped, and turned to help Anko, when the sight he met stopped him.

Anko had Orochimaru pinned, and was using one of his hands to perform a seal. "Twin Snake Mutual Death Technique!"

Kei wasn't surprised when Orochimaru turned out to be a clone. He knew the man was cunning and slippery. Kei rushed to Anko's side when she collapsed, and listened to Orochimaru's parting words. Kei felt a pang of jealousy, his Chuunin exams were never this interesting!

Looking back at Anko, he pushed all other thoughts aside, and regarded her with a serious expression.

"Anko-san..."

"Kei-chan, I'm sorry, but please don't chase after him. It's too dangerous." Anko pleaded.

"Anko-san, what was the technique you tried using?" Kei asked instead.

"It's a forbidden Jutsu, it's a murder suicide technique I was taught when I was younger."

"Forbidden?"

"Yes, but Kei-chan you need to promise me you won't tell anyone about it." Anko begged.

"I wont... but only if you promise to teach it to me." Kei stated. He had a plan forming.

Anko seemed shocked at Kei's words, but quickly shook it off. She was about to protest but looking into Kei's determined eyes, she couldn't

"I can try."

Kei gave her a serious nod, and the deal was in place. Instantly Kei's face changed into his normal happy self, and he turned towards the left.

"Makoto! It's about time you arrived!"

Makoto came through the leaves, looking worried, angry, and battle ready.

* * *

It was actually hard to think of an Omake this time... But this is what I pondered on for a long time, and finally came up with.

**OMAKE**

Makoto sat Kei down and stared directly in his eyes. "Kei we need to do this."

"No we don't." Kei stubbornly refused.

"Yes we do. It's to help you." Makoto insisted.

"No!"

"Kei I don't want to do this anymore than you do, but if we work together I'm sure we can get it done quickly." Makoto tried to reason.

"No!"

"Fine..." Makoto sighed. "If you don't do this, then I will tell Kakashi and have him make you sleep alone for a week!" Makoto threatened.

Kei seemed to waver in his resolve, before finally caving. "Fine." Kei got up and walked outside where a large bowl and soap were waiting. Summoning his ninken, Kei turned to the four and said in a solemn tone. "Sorry boys, but Makoto says it's bath time."

Makoto wasn't sure what happened but he was greeted with five pairs of solemn watery eyes, drooped ears, and whimpering.

In a blink of an eye, Kei yelled "Run!" and all five fled, leaving Makoto with the water and soap. Giving a heavy sigh, Makoto left to find Kakashi. He hated this time of the month.

* * *

I'm running out of questions... so I think I will go with...

Question: Who is your favourite character from Newton?

Kei while obvious and probably the clear winner is not included! Maybe I should ask who is your second fav.

Happy Mother's Day to any and all Mother's that read this.


	27. Chapter 27

**Disclaimer**: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

**Warnings**: _Language, OC'ness, Het, Slash, underage, fluff, smut, and abuse to the author, Loss of Kei's cuteness._

_**Beta**__: FEARMEfrancis_

**Orochimaru The Obstacle**

Sasuke wasn't entirely sure what was happening, but he did know that at some point he had caught a glimpse of Yuki's eyes. They had been attacked and after he had been beaten, he blacked out for a bit. When his body felt itself being pushed around, Sasuke had opened his eyes for a brief moment, and saw Yuki's beautiful eyes just turning away. He passed out again smiling, knowing that his Yuki had arrived and was protecting him.

The next time he woke up to see Naruto being dragged into a root cave by Sakura.

"What's going on?" Sasuke asked, in a slightly slurred voice.

"Sasuke-Kun!" Sakura yelled."I'm so glad you're awake, I feared the worst, but then Kei-sensei and the proctor showed up, and helped us, but you were still knocked out, and Naruto wouldn't wake up either, and then Kei-sensei and Anko-sama left to chase after Orocimaru, and I don't know I tried finding us some place safe, but I don't know what to do."

Sakura finally took a deep breath after her long, one breath, explanation. It was hurried and jumbled, but Sasuke understood... for the most part.

Sasuke could admit he was upset that it was his sensei's little brother that protected him, and not Yuki. He knew there were similarities between the two; same build, same hair, and same eyes, but he never thought he would confuse them.

"Water?" Sasuke looked up at the question, and gratefully took the canteen from his teammate.

"Well um... I expect that we will get attacked again soon, so you rest and I'll set up a trap or two." Sakura looked hesitant and awkward.

"No. Sakura, you rest, and I'll set up traps. An hour before sunrise I'll wake you up."

"Are you sure? You just woke up." Sakura tried to argue.

"We both know I'm the best at traps. I have been dismantling and avoiding traps for years, and have learned quite a bit about them." Sasuke explained while he gathered supplies.

He couldn't help but smile wickedly at the mere thought of all the traps he could lay. Years of Yuki's trapping his food had taught him well. Anyone who dared go near them was in for a volley of lethal and humiliating traps.

Sakura watched as Sasuke developed a smile that strongly reminded her of Kei and Makoto when they took out their red and black scroll. A shudder wracked her body as she felt a small amount of pity for whoever stumbled upon Sasuke's work.

o.O.o

Kei sat on Makoto's shoulders as the passing teams entered the arena. Sai stood beside them, taking in observations of his own, and providing support. When the 6 teams approached the dais, Kei smelled _Him_. It wasn't Orochimaru exactly, but someone who worked for him, and was obviously close. Kei signalled for Sai to stall the Hokage so he could pick out who it was.

Inhaling deeply Kei quickly discarded all the familiar scents. He could rapidly separate Sasuke's and Kiba's scent from the pack, and discarded them. Next, he ruled out the rest of team 7 and then team 8. Focusing on Gaara's team, he motioned for Makoto to move forward more.

Makoto made the action seem completely natural as he stepped towards the Jounin to congratulate their teams. The leaf Jounin knew that Kei was onto something and went along with the act, not arousing any suspicion in the Genin.

As they passed one of the leaf team's Kei knew he found them. He wasn't familiar with the team, but he knew they weren't a new Genin team like Sasuke's or Kiba's. It wasn't even Guy-nii's team, but another. A quick look at them and Kei pinpointed the culprit exactly.

"Got you." Kei whispered so only Makoto could hear. Slipping out of the arena, Kei and Makoto met with the Hokage and Sai in a nearby room.

"Did you two find anything?" The Hokage patiently asked as soon as the duo entered.

"Orochimaru isn't in there personally, but someone who is close to him is. I suspect an informant, and high level minion." Kei explained.

"Could we see the profiles for the passing Genin team's. Neither Kei nor I recognized the suspect." Makoto asked.

The Hokage placed down several folders, and Kei quickly flipped through them all until he found the one he wanted.

"Yakushi, Kabuto. Has gone through the Chuunin exam several times, but never til the end. Was found after the battle at the Kikyo Pass, and raised here. He has extensive training from his adoptive father, and there is no reason for him to fail the Chuunin exam so many times. He's kept under the radar, but has never let his performance slack to a level where you would withdraw his shinobi status, Hokage-sama." Kei rattled off.

"He would have also had access to the Hospital files, which would be beneficial to Orochimaru. He wouldn't be questioned if he said he was visiting his father at the hospital." Makoto tacked on.

"Plus he just looks like a bad guy." Sai threw in. He was on the receiving end of three bemused stares. "Well in all the books and movies, the very good looking guy ends up the bad guy."

"Makoto is good looking." Kei pointed out.

"And Kei is adorable, are we bad guys?"

"No, you have each other and a solid reason to stay true and loyal to Konoha because of Kakashi-san. Plus adorable isn't a trait for bad guys." Sai explained as if it were the most logical reasoning in the whole world.

"But Orochimaru is ugly." Kei argued.

"Ugly people can be bad too, you shouldn't discriminate Kei-chan." Sai fired back.

"So-"

"Stop!" Sarutobi caught off Kei. "We are not here to discuss Enemy profiling. We have a suspect that we need to take care of. Sai I want you to stay with me. You will be the eye in the room. Kei, Makoto, you two are to go get into your ANBU gear. I want you to get two teams stationed outside to capture Kabuto.

"I think he will hold true and drop out at this stage, and when he leaves separately catch him. Bring him to Ibiki. In fact, have the old Ino-Shika-Cho team waiting. Headsets, and in position in 10 minutes. I will wait that long and you had better be in place to catch him. Understood?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama." The three answered.

"Dismissed." Without waiting, Kei and Makoto took off.

o.O.o

Kei was stationed above the door to the arena. They had gotten in contact with Ibiki quickly, and changed while they briefed the scarred man. Two teams of ANBU were summoned, and Ibiki had left Makoto in charge of the mission.

Makoto had them stationed in various places around the doorways and pathways of the arena. With Sai on headset inside, keeping them all up to date on the proceedings, they managed to be ready with two minutes to spare.

"Target has just withdrawn himself from the competition and is leaving the building alone." Sai reported.

"Steady." Makoto's voice filtered through the earpiece.

The door opened and the white-haired suspect casually strolled from the building. Kei tensed his muscles, waiting for word, as he watched the suspect take a few steps from the building.

"Inu, move." Makoto commanded.

Kei quickly leapt from his position and flew towards the suspect. Just before he could tackle the target, Kabuto turned and swung an arm out to stop him.

Kei twisted in the air, and aimed a kick to his face. Through the earpiece, he could hear Makoto barking orders for the others.

Kabuto brought up his other arm to block, but it was the perfect opening for three of the other ANBU to sneak in and incapacitate him. One on both arms, and the third at his back with a kunai to the throat.

Kei saw the spark of retaliation in the young man's eyes, and knew that he was about to do something. Without thinking, Kei jumped up so he was eye level, and punched the young man in the face, knocking him out.

"Get him to T&I now! I believe there are four men who can't wait to deal with him." Makoto commanded.

The other ANBU left with the target, and the T&I group all reported in at several points that Kabuto was still in captivity and had arrived at the destination.

Kei and Makoto slipped back inside the arena to personally report to the Hokage about the success of the mission.

Inside they sidled up to either side of the Village Leader, and spoke.

"Hokage-sama, the target has arrived safely, and is being taken care of by Ibiki-san."

"There were no problems to the mission."

"Good work, Inu, Jakkaru. Why don't you stick around for a bit and watch the rest of the matches."

Looking at the arena, they could see Sasuke kicking his opponent in the neck and sending him flying. Next was a feint, then a three hits, a strong kick to the ground, and ending with a front flip kick.

"He was a henchman to Kabuto, Inu, go out there and kill him. Someone will get the body later. Go."

Kei didn't question the Hokage, As the audience was still in a state of awe, Kei sped by and picked up Yoroi's body. Once in the shadows near the door, he took out a kunai, stabbed it through the man's heart, and pull up, ensuring the man was dead. No one had noticed except the Hokage, the leaf Jounin, and Gaara.

Returning to the Hokage's side, Kei settled in to watch the rest of the matches. He wanted to follow his brother and Sasuke, but knew his place was beside the Hokage.

Kei watched the battles keenly. He had to applaud the Aburame for his swift win. Makoto was chosen to go out and ensure that Misumi, Kabuto's other teammate was dead after his fight with Kankuro.

When Sakura was up, Kei felt a bit of pride at seeing the girl. Sure she was a pink princess that complained more than she worked under his and Makoto's wonderful training regime, but he still helped train her a little. And when she managed to avoid the Yamanaka's mind switching technique and run forward, followed by a roundhouse kick to the blonde girls face, thus winning the match, well he may have smiled behind his mask.

When Kiba took the floor, Kei used all his training to hold himself back from hugging the other boy, or just cheering him on. Kiba turned towards him, and flashed him a cocky grin, and Kei returned it with a small nod of his head. Fighting wise, Kei knew that Kiba was better than Naruto, but with that blond, you never knew what to expect.

This match and the one's following promised mass amounts of entertainment.

o.O.o

The day after the second exam, Kei was put on a solo mission. Kei sighed as he raced along rooftops, looking for his target. He was on a mission to find Jiraiya, and get a signed book for his Nii-san. Kakashi had practically begged Kei to find the old man and get his autograph on his newest work, since Kakashi needed to train Sasuke. Kei didn't mind, he had just pocketed the orange book handed to him, ad left to find Jiraiya.

The mission wasn't bad, but there was one slight hiccup, he was being followed. Kei had tried to shake the stalker without revealing too much of his abilities, but the person was persistant.

Seeing an alley, Kei ducked behind a container and waited. When the shadowy outline of his pursuer appeared, Kei slipped out and addressed the person.

"Why are you following me?"

The person took a few steps forward in place of answering. Walking into a line of sunlight Kei saw Gaara.

"Gaara?"

"I... Kei-chan?"

Kei's face lit up. He wanted to hug his old friend but knew from previous experience that it probably wouldn't be taken well.

"Gaara... you remember me?"

"I... Kei..." Kei watched as various emotions appeared in Gaara's eyes; Happiness, anger, hope, resentment, fear, pain and determination. "Kei... don't...I... Kill..."

"Gaara, what's wrong?" Kei asked as he slowly stepped towards his old friend.

"I have... to kill...everyone...not you...leave." Gaara struggled as he clutched his head, and fell to his knees.

"Gaara, I can help." Kei tried.

"No! Kill." Kei jumped as a wave of sand tried to attack him.

"Gaara!" Kei yelled as he jumped from building wall to wall.

"Run! Leave me!" Gaara yelled as the sand was brought back in.

"Gaara..."

"Kei you have a month to leave... please don't be here during the final test." Gaara spoke through clenched teeth, as he was still battling himself. "Please don't." Without waiting a reply, the red head turned and left.

Kei watched him go, but made a mental note to tell the Hokage about the encounter. Something was going to happen at the final exam, and Kei wanted to know what.

o.O.o

Kei was bored. The last three weeks had been long. The Hokage had declared at all ANBU must be on a 12 hour shift rotation, to better watch the village. Kei and Makoto finally had a day off, and neither knew what to do. Kakashi was off training with Sasuke; Kotetsu and Izumo were busy at the mission's office, Kurenai was training Shino, and Kiba was sulking, and helping Shino too.

"We could train..." Kei suggested.

"I'm still tired from patrolling... we could go to the hot springs." Makoto threw out.

"Nii-san told me to never go to the hot springs when Jiraiya is in the village."

"Yeah, probably best."

"We could visit Rikoto."

"He's busy at the hospital. I heard they are still tending to wounds from the second exam."

"We could-"

"Go on a mission." An ANBU interrupted as she dropped into the room.

"We need to work on our window traps." Kei told his partner.

"The Hokage has summoned you two." The ANBU stated before she left.

"We're not that rude in mask are we?" Makoto asked.

"I don't think so..."

o.O.o

Makoto entered the Hokage's office and quickly went over to open the window. Once Kei soared through it, they settled in front of the village leader.

"Hokage-sama, have you ever considered putting pictures up? I think maybe a cute bunny would really spruce up the place." Makoto suggested.

He got a glare in return.

"Farmer Fujioka has a boar problem in Tea Country."

"Did he throw a kunai?" Kei asked.

"Kei-chan, farmers don't have ninja weapons." Makoto answered.

"Then did he throw a farmer weapon at it?"

"One throw won't kill a boar."

"maybe a trap?"

"Well a trap could work..."

"As funny as you two are, I think having a day off has affected your brains. I'm telling you, that you are needed in Tea Country for an important mission."

Kei and Makoto had blank expressions.

"Oh...we're going." Kei broke the silence, while he dragged his partner out.

"Kei where are we going?" Makoto asked.

"Koto, Tea... what do we always do in Tea?" Kei whispered.

"We see...oh." Makoto clicked in. "But Kei... Tea is the other direction... and so is our apartment."

"Right..."

"Exactly!"

Kei changed directions and continued to drag his partner. They were going to Tea, and he would be allowed to see Itachi.

o.O.o

Three days later, Kei and Makoto made it to the usual meeting spot. Kei was excited to see Itachi but anxious about the reason the older boy had called them here. Meeting once a year was risky enough, which meant whatever Itachi had to saw was very important.

"Has he been here yet?"

"I don't smell him."

"I'm going to go patrol the area; you stay here in case he arrives."

"Okay."

Several hours past before Kei picked up the scent of his friend approaching. Straightening up, Kei waited until Itachi was about the break the tree line, before he started running. With a jump, he landed perfectly in Itachi's arms as the young man entered the meeting spot.

"Kei I missed you..." Itachi whispered into Kei's ear as he brought the younger boy closer still.

"Itachi, it's been too long." Kei responded while soaking up Itachi's scent.

"I'm sorry I had to call you out here like this." Itachi spoke. He slowly walked backwards until his back hit a tree, and slid down to sit, Kei settling in his lap neatly.

"Itachi, what is wrong?" Kei asked seriously.

"I suspect by now that you and the Hokage know that Orochimaru has been sneaking around Konoha. I got some information about his plans and I need you to leave now and get them back to Konoha as quickly as possible."

"When do these plans come into effect?"

"Four days." Itachi announced.

"It took Makoto and I three days to get here, and we're both exhausted. If it's speed we need, then I know what to do. Do you have paper or something to write this on?"

"I already wrote it down on this scroll." Itachi withdrew a plain blue scroll from his sleeve.

"Do you have another?"

"Yes, but its blank."

"That's fine. Hand me both." Kei instructed as he stood from Itachi's lap. Pulling his summoning scroll, Kei summoned Ranmaru.

Itachi handed over both scrolls, and Kei tied one around each ninken's neck. "Ranmaru, this scroll holds highly classified and very important information for the Hokage. You must get this to the Hokage, and the Hokage only. Go!" Kei watched as his ninken left. "They should get it there in a day and half."

"Kei, if you can, delay or stall, or even stop the fight between Sasuke and Gaara. That's the focal point of Orochimaru's plan."

"Itachi I will do my best, but I can't guarantee Makoto and I will make it back in time."

"Just promise that you will try and help Sasuke as much as you can." Itachi grabbed Kei's shoulders, leaned down so they were more even in height, and stared desperately into Kei's eyes.

"I promise Itachi, I have always promised to watch out for Sasuke."

"Thank you." Itachi whispered sincerely.

Kei reached up and lowered his mask, before leaning forward to place a light kiss on Itachi's lips. Just like Sasuke did to him, and Kakashi did to Ayame. He wanted to show his affection to his friend, and from his observations of others, this was the best method.

"See you in a few months." Kei whispered before he turned and left to find Makoto. They had a village to return to, which meant Kei didn't see the shocked expression he left on his friends face.

o.O.o

Sarutobi was sitting in his office, when two white dogs ran in. Holding out his hand, he let the pair sniff it, before they both settled down and exposed their necks, showing two blue scrolls hanging around them. Removing both, the Hokage opened the first one to find it blank. He opened the second to see it full of Itachi's handwriting, and words in the Uchiha's prodigy own code.

When he reached the end, Sarutobi leaned back and sighed. Thinking of the missing Uchiha, he always felt a pang of guilt- guilt from being unable to help him. "My dear boy, what would this village do without you?"

Snapping out of his current mood, Sarutobi addressed his ANBU guards. "I'm calling an emergency meeting for all Jounin and ANBU. Also I want someone to personally drag Hatake, Kakashi in here now."

o.O.o

Kei ran tree from tree, ignoring the stitch in his side. It had been four days, and he knew that the final exam had already started. They had tried. They pushed themselves every day, and when they both were seconds from collapsing, Kei summoned Taka.

Taka had carried them, but the big mountain dog couldn't run as fast and Kei and Makoto ran. They still appreciated that Taka would carry them closer to their destination as they rested, but once they felt confident they could make the rest of the journey they had sent Taka back and ran.

Kei was praying to Kami-sama that they would make it in time, when he suddenly smelt someone new. In fact, it wasn't someone but some people.

"Koto."

Makoto instantly stopped and questioningly looked towards Kei.

"I smell people."

The pair carefully snuck to the area that the new smells were coming from, and spotted a group of Sand and Sound ninja, prepping a clearing for a ritual.

"I don't think that circle will bring anything good for Konoha." Makoto whispered.

"We have to stop them. "

"It looks like a summoning circle actually." Makoto pointed out.

Kei took a closer look, and could see where Makoto got the idea. Taking out his own summoning scroll, Kei summoned Pico.

"Pico, go find Ibiki and tell him that there is a group of 30 preparing for a large summoning South Ea-"

"South West."

"-South West of the village." Kei instructed. "Go!"

"Yes Boss." The little pug said before taking off.

"Now what?" Makoto asked as the group sitting around the circle started feeding chakra.

"We take them all out." Kei answered.

Together the pair smiled at each other, and jumped into the clearing, ninja weapons flying.

Kei had taken out his tessen and was alternating between wind jutsus and using the sharp edges to cut up his opponents. Makoto was at his back, and hacking away at the enemies. He had previously opened his storage scroll, and had taken out Zabuza's sword, and was putting it to good use.

The pair finally made it to the circle, leaving a trail of dead bodies behind, but they apparently weren't quick enough as a large, very large, snake appeared. It hissed loudly at the sky, before it started towards the village.

"Koto..."

"I know.. big worm on the loose."

The continued to cut down the enemies and were amazed at how many kept popping up when they started making progress to take out the snake.

Kei finally broke through a wall and beheaded several of the summoning ninja before another snake could come to this plan. Makoto broke through the wall and seconds later, and they turned together to hack down the rest of the ninja before giving chase to the snake.

Kei could admit, that large snake was fast! Once they left the clearing in a massacre they ran after the snake, but it had put good distance between them. If Kei wasn't trying to kill it to save his village, he would have liked to have a nice conversation with the snake and compliment it on its superior speed skills.

Just when the snake reached the wall, and was preparing to make its own entrance, several black clad figures jumped into the air, and with their katanas quickly killed the beast.

Seeing Ibiki, the duo made their way over to the Jounin.

"Ibiki, what's the situation?" Makoto asked.

"Well thanks to you for finding out about Kabuto and some anonymous information the Hokage got, we knew about Orochimaru's plan and managed to set up a defensive attack plan.

"Orochimaru was posing as the Kazekage, but before he could kidnap the Hokage, Yamato and several others who were on high alert managed a replacement jutsu, and stopped the Hokage from being caught in a barrier.

"The Hokage is fighting Orochimaru now, and several ANBU are keeping Orochimaru's minions busy. There's several waves of enemies coming at us from the North West, but there's teams that are taking care of it. I just took a team over here to help with that giant snake, Thanks for the warning by the way."

"No problem, anything to help." Kei waved it off.

"Should we go to help with the invading waves now?" Makoto asked impatiently.

Kei reached into his arm bandages and took out his chakra knives. Sparking them up hefaced his partner, "Okay, I'm ready to go." Kei said.

Makoto propped his sword onto his shoulder and smiled. "Let's go, then."

o.O.o

The aftermath of the battle wasn't as bad as Orochimaru had probably planned. Kei didn't know the full details, but he knew something important happened between Gaara, Sasuke and Naruto. The giant toad and sand thing he saw while killing the enemy, may have clued him in.

Kei started thinking about how the snake summoning circle probably would have caused a lot of structural damage, when he felt his right arm tingling. Looking at his arm, the edges of his vision started blurring. As he lifted his left arm to reach for the medication Rikoto had left him, Kei saw his fingers twitching.

As if he felt Kei's pain and panic, Makoto rushed through the door, and quickly opened Kei's seizure medication. Kei swallowed the two pills, and clutched Makoto's hand in his.

Rikoto had speculated that the more Kei pushed himself, the more his body would display symptoms from the Black Hand Jutsu. The medic had prescribed Kei seizure medication, and a few others to stop the nerve deterioration, and weakness. Makoto had his own supply of the medication just in case.

Kei hadn't been sure about all the medication, but since he was brought in for a deep cut across his ribs during the fight, he was too out of it to argue with the medic at the time.

"Kei are you okay?" Makoto worriedly whispered.

"I'm fine, just a little dizzy. It will pass."

"Okay, but we need to get to the funerals."

"I know. Just help me with my clothes and we can go."

As Makoto helped him get dressed, Kei couldn't help but think about how happy he was that neither Kakashi, the Hokage or any of his friends had been killed. He didn't have to bury them yet, and he was grateful.

* * *

My beta actually came up with this idea for the omake, so let's all thank her!

**OMAKE**

Sasuke hn'd approvingly when he gently laid out his mothers wedding kimono set. He placed all pieces into the appropriate order, and couldn't stop himself from blushing at the thought of peeling each layer off of Yuki's body at the ceremony.

He unravelled the obi fabric, and could see a pretty blush staining Yuki's pale cheeks as he turned away in embarrassment. He slowly pushed one side of the kimono away, and felt more blood rushing to his cheeks, as thoughts of Yuki's gently shivering in his hands in anticipation. Touching the second layer of the kimono set, knowing that mentally he was getting closer to his goal, Sasuke felt a weird stirring below.

Looking down, Sasuke 'eep'd' and dropped the fabric in his hand when he saw a very noticeable problem in his shorts.

Running from the room, Sasuke slammed the door shut, and fled down the hall. He promised to himself to not go near his mother's wedding kimono set, again until the wedding. It was a dangerous thing, evident from the problem it left in his shorts.

* * *

Results of the Popularity Contest are in! Remember this was "Which is your favourite character in Newton besides Kei' Contest.

The Winner is... **Makoto**!

Votes: Makoto-22, Kakakshi-11, Yuki-6, Itachi/Sasuke-4, Rikoto/Anko-2, and Kiba/Ninken Summons-1

Kei while not being in the contest still received 5 votes.

Q&A area. Since ffnet hasn't let me respond to reviews I have decided to just answer the most asked questions here.

**Does Kakashi know about Kei's sickness/seizures?** No. Kei is adamant to keep that a secret.

**Did Orochimaru's bite affect Sasuke?** No, but he doesn't know that.

Now for you my wonderful readers, Question: who would win in a fight? Kei or Superman?

Thanks go to Doldermort is Vead for the idea.


	28. Chapter 28

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way.

**Warnings:** Language, OC'ness, Het, Slash, underage, fluff, smut, and abuse to the author, Loss of Kei's cuteness, torture, masks revealed, and

Beta: FEARMEfrancis

**Unexpected Revelations**

Kei carefully walked into the courtyard of the Uchiha compound, lifting his kimono so it wouldn't drag, and sat down beside Sasuke. The other boy seemed to be in deep concentration, and Kei was reluctant to break. Shifting a little to find a more comfortable position, Kei placed both hands on Sasuke's knee and rested his chin on top of them, waiting for the other boy to take notice.

When Sasuke slowly withdrew from his thoughts, he showed slight surprise at Yuki's presence, but more pleasure.

"Yuki...I, I missed you." Sasuke whispered as he raised one hand to rest on Kei's cheek.

"Sorry it's been so long." Kei apologized.

"It's okay, at least you're here now. Yuki, do you remember anything before you died?" Sasuke asked seriously, slightly looking of in the distance.

"What do you mean?" Kei asked, taken aback from the question.

"Do you remember your family? Like did you have a brother or more? What your father was like, or if you had any cousins you were close to?" Sasuke slid off his seat so he was more level to Kei on the ground.

"Where are these questions coming from Sasuke?" Kei was worried that Sasuke might have caught onto his real identity. It wasn't that far of a stretch for the young Uchiha to make connections after all the time Kei had spent around him in his usual attire lately.

"I guess I just wanted to know if your family was as messed up as mine. My father was cold towards me, my mother was attentive but I could tell she struggled some days. My own brother slaughtered everyone in my clan, and now I heard he was in Konoha today, but my first thought wasn't to chase him, and avenge my family. My first thought was to come back here and make sure he didn't take you away from me either.

"We weren't the most affectionate family, or loving, but I should be angrier at him. I should crave for revenge, only thinking about killing him, but I can't. I'm numb. Yuki what should I do? Am I disgracing my father and mother by not seeking retribution from Itachi?" Sasuke asked desperately.

Kei could see the depths of confusion and pain in Sasuke eyes as he spoke. "I don't think you are disgracing them. If you fight Itachi you will lose, and die. They would want you to rebuild the Uchiha clan, and dying will not repopulate this compound."

"What if I do have several kids, and the clan starts to prosper again, what if Itachi comes back and slaughters them too. I can't lose my entire family twice. I can't lose you."

"I don't think Itachi would do that same despicable act twice." Kei answered simply.

"Yuki, you will be with me every step of the way right? You will be by my side when I am old enough to start rebuilding the Uchiha clan, right?" Sasuke grabbed both his hands and cradled them close to his chest. Kei couldn't help but smile.

"Of course." Kei was happy that Sasuke always wanted to be friends, that he even considered Kei, or Yuki, important to rebuilding his clan.

The pair sat in silence for awhile and watched the clouds. Sasuke didn't let go of Kei's hands, but he didn't mind. The older boy needed comfort at the moment.

"Itachi was here today. Apparently he's after Naruto. I don't know why, but it was lucky that the dobe had already left the village for a mission. He hurt Kakashi-sensei too. He's hurting all the people close to me, almost like he's taunting me, wanting me to hunt him down." Sasuke whispered.

Kei squeezed Sasuke's hand. That was one of the reason he came here today. To see how the older boy was doing, and seeking comfort himself. It was hard seeing Kakashi lying in that hospital bed, unmoving, and unable to wrap his arms around Kei like he did every time the pair saw each other. Kei missed that warmth and comfort he got from his brother's arms, and sought out Sasuke.

"Will you fall into his trap?"

"No." Sasuke answered immediately. "I don't want to fight him. I have wondered for years now if there was a reason behind his massacre. I don't think it was just to test his skills, but something else. Like someone was pushing him from behind. I want to know why, but I won't go chasing him, looking for answers when I have more important goals to accomplish here first."

Kei cuddled into Sasuke's side at the end of his answer. They both needed someone to hold them right now, as they thought about their brothers.

o.O.o

Kei was called away from his brother's side to see the Hokage. Kei was a little put out at the request. He had been reading the latest instalment of 'Satoshi the Shogi Master' to Nii-san. The story was about Satoshi entering an International tournament only to be kidnapped so he couldn't win. Shigeru has just appeared to save Satoshi, when the messenger popped in. Sighing, while closing the book, Kei left the room, to see what the Third wanted.

When Kei entered the office he was surprised to see Gaara, and his siblings waiting for him.

"Hokage-sama." Kei bowed his head in respect when he finally settled down on his window bench.

"Kei-chan, welcome. I just had a long discussion with Gaara here, and he has formally apologized for the actions of his village." Sarutobi calmly stated.

"I'm sure you were pleased Hokage-sama."

"Yes I was. Naturally I decided to accept, but then Gaara made a most interesting request."

Kei remained silent, waiting for his leader to continue at his own pace.

"He suggested that you act as ambassador between our two villages."

Kei turned stunned eyes towards the redhead. "Really?"

"I have fond memories of you from when we were younger. I apologize for my actions since I entered Konohagakure, I can't give any proper explanations for my actions or excuses. I hope that this offer will help to mend any rift I have made between us." Gaara said in his regular monotone voice.

"There were never any rifts, just misunderstandings." Kei gave his old friend a fond expression. "But, what about Makoto? We can't leave him out."

"Makoto-kun will be offered co-ambassador with you, but Gaara wanted to apologize to you first." The Hokage explained.

"Makoto and I would love to be able to see Gaara more often!" Kei cheered.

"Well I do believe that was an acceptance." The Hokage smiled.

"But why is Gaara able to choose an ambassador? Isn't that the job of the Kazekage?" Kei asked.

Instead of the Hokage, or Gaara, Temari stepped forward. "In place of our late father, Kankuro and I are running his office. When we return to Suna, we will be speaking with the council to make Gaara the next Kazekage."

"What if they disagree?" Kei asked.

Gaara smirked while his sand quickly poured out of its gourd, flooding to every corner of the room, and forming faces of snarling animals. "Then I will change their minds."

"I think you will make a great Kazekage, Kei cheered as he leapt across the room to finally hug his friend. It felt nice being able to hug his friend without a wave of sand beating him up.

o.O.o

The night before Jiraiya, Naruto, and Tsunade were scheduled to arrive, Kei, Makoto, and Sai were sitting in the Hokage's office, begging than man for mission other than cleaning up.

Sarutobi was considering making them sort his paper work again, when an ANBU dropped in.

"Hokage-sama, the prisoner Kabuto escaped."

Kei and his team sat up immediately at the ANBU's words.

"What happened?" Sarutobi demanded right away.

"We were transferring him from the T&I cellblock to the prison, when he started attacking us. Before we could get reinforcement's he had already gotten away. Several ANBU have left to give chase already."

Sarutobi's frown deepened at the ANBU's words. "Makoto, Kei, Sai, I want you all out there. Kei track him down quickly, do you still remember his scent?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Kei answered before he started towards the window. "We'll get him." Kei yelled back as he jumped, quickly followed by his teammates.

Kei was able to pick up Kabuto's scent quickly. He ran full out, as he chased the traitor. It may have been awhile, but he could still smell the dead and decay scent that Orochimaru had left on the boy. Kei didn't think any amount of bathing would be able to pull that scent out of the boy's skin. It was like Kabuto had vigorously rubbed up against Orochimaru several times a day, to get it that deeply entrenched.

As the trio ran, they passed several ANBU that were trying to track Kabuto by physical means. Kei knew that Kabuto was too well trained to leave any obvious signs and that why he depended solely on his nose.

When they finally caught up to Kabuto, Kei wasn't prepared for the kunai that were flying at his head. At some point Kabuto had found himself some weapons.

"You won't catch me. I must return to my master." The white haired boy hissed at them.

Kei continued to charge forward as Makoto and Sai broke off to attack from the sides. Kei got into striking distance, when Kabuto sent another metal wave at him, Dodging Kei saw Sai withdrawing his scroll and brush.

Kei rolled backwards, and onto his feet, as he started sending out chakra pulses, to draw all searching ANBU to their location. The action seemed to set Kabuto into a frenzy as the white haired boy started screaming. Kei really didn't think Kabuto's time with Ibiki left him as sane as he once was.

Kabuto turned to the side and grabbed Makoto's foot that was on a path to his face, and twisted it. Using his free hand, it lit up with chakra, as he started cutting up Makoto's legs. Just as quick, he dropped Makoto's legs and dived at Sai. Upon collision, Kabuto shoved his hand into Sai's chest, and laughed happily.

Kei screamed when Kabuto withdrew one bloody hand from his teammate's chest. Kei rushed forward, just as Makoto took out two kunai to attack Kabuto again. Kabuto twisted his body, and grabbed both Makoto's hand, he turned them, and shoved the kunai into Makoto's chest, he pushed them down, leaving two bloody trails down Makoto's torso.

"Makoto!" Kei screamed when his partner went down. Kei turned his most deadly glare on Kabuto. He could see the edges of his vision going red, but he didn't care. He needed to kill this traitor, and he needed to do it fast. Rushing forward again, Kabuto attempted to dodge left, but Kei caught him.

Kei placed both hands onto Kabuto's chest and focussed all his hate at the man through his arms, Suddenly, a large explosion went off, sending Kei flying backwards and into a tree. Determined to finish off Kabuto before he could try to escape again, Kei struggled to stand, and his eyes landed on the burning body of the man he was chasing.

Kabuto's body lay 20 metres away, and it was burning. The entire broken looking corpse was on fire, but Kei knew that wasn't what killed him. The large gaping hole where the man's chest had once been, was the reason for his death.

Kei clenched his hands closed at the sight, before running over and checking his teammates. As he arrived at Sai's body, the other ANBU arrived and went to work. Some went to Kabuto's body and put out the fire, some went to load his teammates onto stretchers, and one even came over to him to question him about the event.

Kei ignored him, as he fell to his knees, praying to Kami-sama that his teammates wouldn't die.

o.O.o

Kei paced outside the operating room's door. Tsunade had arrived early, and the Hokage had wasted no time in showing her to the hospital. Teams of medical staff were trying to save Sai and Makoto, and it wasn't looking good. She had ushered Sai into the OR first, and spent two hours trying to save the young shinobi.

When she emerged she had looked triumphant before she popped a soldier pill and ordered Makoto be brought in. Kei was a wreck as he waited for news of his partner. Sai was stable and they declared that he would live, but Makoto was still being tended too, and all the staff in and out of the room with more supplies weren't boosting Kei's optimism any.

When Tsunade finally left the OR she looked exhausted. Wiping the sweat from her brow, she turned towards Kei and smiled. "Your partner will live. It will be a few weeks before he can leave the hospital, but he will be fine." She told him.

Kei smiled, and hugged the woman. "Thank you, thank you, thank you" he mumbled into her bosom, without noticing.

"Now I understand that your brother Kakashi needs to be looked at as well. Since he's not in any immediate danger would you mind if I looked after him tomorrow?" she asked.

"It's okay, you have done so much tonight, I know you need to rest. Thank you for helping them all." Kei sincerely thanked the woman.

"Okay brat, get off me now so I can go sleep, or find Sake, whichever comes first." Tsunade lightly pushed him off, and Kei gave her another smile before he ran to the room where Sai and Makoto were resting together.

o.O.o

A week later found Kei, sitting on Makoto's hospital bed eating dango. Kei and Kakashi had decided to visit the two, and brought a feast. There was dango for Kei, pudding for Makoto, melon bread for Sai, and Kakashi opted to steal a little from the three of them.

"So what did you do exactly?" Makoto asked before he stuck more pudding in his mouth.

"We just left a little gift for her as thanks.' Kei explained.

The night before Kei and Kakashi had slipped into the Hokage's office and left the woman a present. This morning she was sworn in, and would soon be stepping into her office for the first time as the Hokage. Kei and Kakashi were positive that the woman would enjoy their present.

o.O.o

Tsunade had opened the door to her office, and took a step in to find it changed. It looked completely different then how she and Sarutobi had left it the day before.

The walls were painted a warm yellow, there was an area rug with a white couch and chair on top, off to the side. There was even a mini fridge beside the couch, that she just knew was full of drinks, none of them Sake. She noticed the wooden window bench was now cushioned with white pillows.

Closing the door, she turned to see four pictures hanging beside the door. The one on top was of Kei, wearing a bunny eared hat and flashing a victory sign with his fingers. The second showed Kakashi wearing a fake rabbit nose and whiskers over his mask. Third showed Makoto holding up two rabbit paw mittens, and the fourth was Sai. Sai's picture showed from his knee's up unlike the other three. Only his body was turned showing a fluffy white rabbit tail attached to the back of his shorts.

Tsunade felt his eye twitch and her fist clench when she saw the small banner hanging above the windows. 'Thank You Tsunade-hime! You'll make a great Hokage!' it read, while four chibi drawing smiled down at her.

Tsunade was about to destroy everything, but something told her that if she did that whole Hatake group would just do something worse next time. She knew that the smallest one did this, since the other three were still confined to the hospital. Which meant, if she sent the smallest one away, that none of them could do anything. Smiling to herself, Tsunade sat down to find the perfect mission to send Kei on to punish all four of them for redecorating her office. Maybe cleaning the men's room at the hot springs? Or catching Tora?

o.O.o

Kei grumbled to himself about the evilness of cats and women, as he strolled down the street. Kakashi, Makoto, and Sai were all still being held hostage in the hospital, and Tsunade had banned him from seeing them today. Then she had given him a mission to find that little furry demon that Daimyo's wife kept. Kei seriously considered taking back his banner, but thought better of it, it might prompt the woman to do worse to him.

He was considering visiting Sasuke, when he saw the boy walking with his team.

Suddenly appearing before them in a puff of smoke, Kei threw out a lazy "Yo."

"You're Late!" Sakura and Naruto reflexively yelled.

"For what?" Kei asked.

"Idiots." Sasuke interrupted. "We're going on a mission right now. Where's your partner?" Sasuke asked.

"Makoto is taking a day off." Kei smiled at them. They didn't need to know about Kabuto and Makoto's near death experience.

"Day off? Last I saw of him he was bloody everywhere out of his chest and Baa-chan was wheeling him into a room to save his life." Naruto announced.

Kei wanted to hit the boy, not everyone needed to know about that. "See? A day off." He responded instead, appearing unfazed. "So where is this mission?"

"Tea Country." Sakura offered.

Kei stiffened. "Oh and what is it that you are to do?"

"We're going to be bodyguards for some Jirocho guy." Naruto proudly stated.

Kei felt his body relax. Jirocho was in a different part of Tea than Itachi usually hid out.

"Be good. Don't talk to your enemies, just fight first. Wear clean underwear, and come home safe." Kei told them, with a happy disposition.

The trio left, and Kei realized his plans to visit Sasuke were shot. Needing something to do, he started wandering until a familiar scent touched his nose. Following the scent, he walked through the woods until he reached a river.

Kiba was splashing around in the water. Kei thought he might have been doing a set of Kata's, and stayed back to watch. Sensing his presence, Kiba turned and smiled at his friend.

"Kei strip down and get in here already!" Kiba yelled, as he pulled off his own pants, to switch from working out to play.

o.O.o

Kei lazed on his cushioned window bench, while Sarutobi happily took in the new decor. Tsunade sat behind her desk, observing the both of them, wondering what was going on.

"Okay Sarutobi-sama, what do you need to discuss?"

Sarutobi merely smiled at the woman while we went through a series of hand seals and set up several privacy barriers.

"Tsunade-hime, what do you know about the Uchiha Massacre?" he asked.

Kei sat up immediately.

"What everyone knows, Uchiha, Itachi snapped and killed his whole clan except one, before fleeing the village." Tsunade explained, while staring at the Third curiously. "But now I want to know what really happened, and why Hatake-chibi is here."

Sarutobi settled down on the couch and smiled serenely. "I should have listened to you earlier Kei, this couch was a lovely idea."

"Oh open the fridge, your favourite red bean juice is in there." Kei added.

"Delightful."

Tsunade felt her patience with the pair quickly draining.

o.O.o

Kei needed to find a way to stay on Tsunade's good side. This was the second she had given him out of spite, and Kei considered this one far worse.

The primary mission was to get a message out to Itachi, about Tsunade being aware of his situation. Kei was supposed to take a harmless looking mission outside of the village, and at a certain point send a message off with Ranmaru. The cover mission was escorting a woman to a post town. Kei didn't mind that part, but what he did dislike was his partner.

With Makoto, Sai, and Kakashi all in the hospital, Tsunade had found a replacement for him. Akemi. Kei hadn't seen the woman in a long time, but had heard that at some point she was promoted to Chuunin, and was given a teachers position at the academy.

Tsunade had said that since they had been teammates before, it was the perfect solution. Plus Kei was probably missing his old buddy. Once Kei saw that victorious look in the woman's eye, he knew she knew about the past history between the two. Oh Tsunade was evil, just like Nii-san said.

The mission started out fine. They travelled quickly, and the client liked silence. At their first break, Kei snuck into the woods and summoned Ranmaru. He gave the twin canines the message and set them off.

Once they reached the post village, it was nearing dark. Kei suggested they rent a room for the night but Akemi was adamant to get back, not wanting to spend any more time with the boy who cost her Rikoto. Kei was surprised she was still so hung up on Rikoto.

Kei finally caved, and started the journey back. The pair were running through the tree's, and Kei was trying to block out Akemi's complaining. She was exactly as he remembered her, and he didn't know why. They had all grown up, and matured, but she just didn't. Kei didn't wasn't sure how she got her position at the academy with her attitude. But then again, its' not like he knew what academy teachers were suppose to be like.

They were halfway home, when Kei stopped. He smelled four other people nearby. The weird part was that they didn't have an underscent. He couldn't tell which country they came from. Akemi stopped behind him and huffed. She wasn't impressed with the delay.

"What are you doing?" She demanded.

"Shh, there's four people close by." Kei whispered.

"They're probably just on patrol or something."

"Will you be quiet, they don't smell like they're from Konoha." Kei hissed. Thankfully, Akemi kept her mouth shut.

Carefully, Kei started moving to head the four off. Just as they were about to reach the strangers Akemi spoke, "No one's here, let's go." She demanded.

"Will you be qui-"

Kei felt the edge of a weapon pierce his side, cutting him off from telling Akemi off. Kei sent a glare at Akemi, fully blaming her for the injury.

Kei turned to see four people standing on a branch nearby.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here boys?" The smallest one of the group spoke.

o.O.o

Kei blamed Akemi for the position he was in now. No, he blamed Akemi and Tsunade for sending him out with such an incompetent kunoichi.

As soon as the girl spoke from the group of four, Akemi had fled. Turned tail and ran away. Leaving Kei to fight the four by himself. Kei thought he had done pretty well, considering these four were on a Jounin level.

Once Akemi had left, Kei had been attacked. He managed to dodge most of the attacks, and avoid the web of one of them. At one point as he faced off against the girl, he jumped over her head, placing a paper bomb on her neck, and killing her. He didn't know what her little flute did, but he was glad he would never have to find out.

As he was fighting the bigger guy, that he learned was Jirobo from the constant yelling of the other two, he was blinded sided by the guy who split himself in two. Kei briefly wondered if that hurt, before he blacked out.

When he woke up a few minutes later, he was tied to a tree. The three remaining boys were standing in front of his, glaring or leering.

"He killed Tayuya, what should we do with him, Boss?" Jirobo asked.

"I think we should torture him a little Sakon." The creepy spider like one suggested. Kei glared at him.

"Kidomaru, I think that is a lovely suggestion." Sakon said while licking his lips.

Kei started testing his restraints, but found that they were not rope but spider web. Kei increased his glare at the creepy one.

"He looks familiar doesn't her?" Jirobo threw out. Instantly, all three were leaning closer, inspecting his face. "Looks like that Copy-nin guy."

"I think you're right Jirobo." Sakon said.

Slowly, as if to taunt Kei, Sakon took out a book, and casually flipped the pages. "Ah!" he announced dramatically. "Hatake, Kakashi, known at the Copy-nin. He has copied over a thousand jutsu's.. . interesting.. oh and look here, a little note. It seems that Hatake, has a little brother."

"The hair is the same, and the face mask, but I think we can make this little one resemble his dear brother a little more." Kidomaru leered at Kei.

Sakon dropped the book, and stepped forward. He withdrew a kunai and licked the edge slowly, staring straight into Kei's eyes.

"You would like that right? To look more like your dear aniki?" Sakon whispered beside his ear.

Suddenly, Kei felt shark jabs of pain in his scalp as Sakon grabbed his long ponytail and pulled.

"Sakon, that hair is way too long, you should cut it." Kidomaru threw out.

Sakon grinned before he pulled Kei's head sharply to the side by the hair. Quickly, Sakon brought the kunai down, slicing off Kei's ponytail, and barely stopping the blade from imbedding itself into his spine.

Dropping, the cut hair in front of Kei, Sakon raised his free hand to run his fingers through Kei's new short locks, in an almost affectionate manner.

"Almost there, but not quite..." Sakon murmered.

"Looking at this picture looks like we need to cut out his left eye." Jirobo informed their leader.

"Too bad, he has such pretty eyes..." Sakon said as he trailed his hand down to cradle Kei's face. Without warning, Sakon slashed down Kei's left eyes.

Kei bite his tongue to stop the screams from his throat emerging. He refused to make a noise as they did their sick torture, even when he could feel the blood flowing down his face from his former left eye.

"Almost perfect, but I can guarantee that this Kakashi has many scars on his body. We wouldn't want otouto to miss out would we?" Sakon asked.

"We can help with that." Kidomaru purred as he withdrew his own kunai.

The other two quickly advanced and smiled as the strategically placed cuts on Kei's body. Some were shallow, some deeper. Sakon even whispered to himself as if he were drawing a picture. "One here.. and another cut here... but a scratch here to make it look better.."

"I want to see under his mask." Kidomaru randomly declared. Kei directed another fierce glare at the ninja.

Kei smiled under his mask at the trio argued over who would get to remove the fabric. "None of you will get the privilege." He coughed out.

Instantly the trio froze and turned to where a wall of ANBU were standing, waiting for them.

"Boo" Kei whispered before he blacked out from blood loss.

o.O.o

Kakashi had been sitting in his hospital room when he felt that something was wrong. Escaping, he quickly checked on Makoto, and Sai. Both were fine and sleeping away in their own room.

Next Kakashi left and checked o Sakura. The girl was at home with her mother, and perfectly safe. Kakashi searched out Naruto next and wasn't surprised to see the boy at Ichiraku's enjoying his fifth bowl of ramen. Next he went to the Uchiha district and found Sasuke, in his backyard training.

The only one left was Kei...

Kakashi knew that Kei was on a mission, but it had been to simply escort a woman to a nearby town. He couldn't imagine what type of danger Kei would get into when he was barely going a day's travel away.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke's voice broke through his thoughts.

Kakashi looked down and gave a small wave to his student who was staring up at him.

"Kakashi-sensei what are you doing here?" The Uchiha asked.

"I was just checking up on you. It's been awhile since we last saw each other." Kakashi explained as if every Jounin did that with their students, late in the evening.

"Hn."

"Would you like to take a walk with me Sasuke-kun?" Kakashi asked. Maybe talking with his student would help take his mind off whatever potential danger Kei was in.

"Whatever." Sasuke answered as he put his weapons away and started towards the compounds front gates.

As the pair walked, Kakashi had taken out his orange book, and was reading, barely watching where he was walking.

"Kakashi-sensei, is something wrong with Kei-sensei?" Sasuke interrupted him.

"Why do you say that?" Kakashi asked with an eye smile, hoping to mislead the boy.

"You're not giggling like you usually do when you read that perverted book. I can only guess you're worried about Kei-sensei, since he seems to be the only one you worry about." Sasuke explained.

Kakashi had to give it to the boy, he was perspective.

"I just have a bad feeling." Kakashi answered, not saying if it was about Kei or not, but also not disagreeing about only caring for Kei.

The pair walked in silence once more, but not Kakashi had put away his book.

Just before the restaurant distract, they were stopped by a harassed looking Akemi.

"Akemi-chan." Kakashi gave the girl his coldest smile possible.

"H-hatake-san, I'm sorry but I didn't know what to do! We met four strangers on the way back and I could feel their chakra and it was so strong, so I ran away, and then I sent ANBU back to Kei, but ai don't know what happened, I was searching for you, when I saw them carry Kei's body back into the village-"

"What?" Kakashi yelled. "You left Kei alone with enemy ninja again?" Kakashi was furious, he wanted to girls head. No! Not just her head but her entire body in little pieces that he could dance on and laugh. She deserved nothing less.

"We will talk later." Kakashi hissed at the girl before he took off to the hospital, not even noticing Sasuke following behind.

When Kakashi arrived he was met with Shizune, standing outside the OR.

"Shizune, what happened?" Kakashi demanded.

"When ANBU arrived he was being tortured by three assailants. From the report we received as he was brought in there are multiple lacerations to his body, and his left eye was heavily damaged. I don't think he will be able to see from it anymore." The assistant regretfully informed the Jounin.

"But will he live?" Kakashi desperately asked.

"We believe he will. They didn't cut any major veins or arteries."

Kakashi slumped down into the nearest chair and took out his orange book, clutching it tightly, and holding it up to rest his forehead on it.

"He has to be okay..." Kakashi whispered when his shoulder started to shake "Oh Kami-sama, it was his birthday to day too, this shouldn't have happened."

o.O.o

Sasuke stayed close to his sensei as they waited for news on Kei. Tsunade finally emerged from the OR and calmly told them that Kei would be alright, and they could go in now to see him. Kakashi didn't waste a second.

The Jounin stood up quickly, dropping his orange book, and running into the room. Sasuke picked up the book, and followed his sensei inside.

Sasuke saw the man leaning over a hospital bed, and caressing Kei's face. Sasuke was curious about Kei's face. He had never seen Kei's or Kakashi's face, but this might finally be his chance. Sasuke quietly moved further into the room, and to the end of the bed.

Kakashi moved back slightly, not even aware of his presence, and Sasuke saw Kei's face for the first time and froze.

It was Yuki.

But it couldn't be, because it was Kei in that bed, covered in bandages, the main one over his left eye. But Sasuke knew his eyes didn't lie. On that bed was Yuki, only it was really Kei. His brain went crazy as everything he knew about Yuki and Kei was compared.

Their eyes, and hair was the same, although now Kei's looked like it had been roughly chopped off. Next was their intense love of dango, and now that he thought about it, the sounded and talked exactly the same. The image of a white haired boy lying in his brothers bed, came to the front and he knew that, that had been Kei in Itachi's bed.

Sasuke raised one hand to his mouth to stifle his gasp. He had been kissing and hugging Kei these last few years. Kei had been the one teaching him, listening to him, bringing him food, and helping him wherever he could. Yuki was a lie, because it was always been Kei.

Sasuke couldn't control his thoughts as they spiralled out of control. He didn't know how to feel, what to think, to even how to function now that he knew that Yuki wasn't real. With one last glance at Kei, Sasuke ran from the room, clutching the orange book in his hand, not seeing anything that he ran past.

* * *

I decided to throw in a little Wizarding world for this omake.

**OMAKE**

Dumbledore sat in his office, debating on what he should say for his Welcome Back Speech. In previous years he had quoted such wonderful man like Shakespeare, Flamel, and Merlin himself, but this year he wanted to do something differently.

Looking around his office his eyes landed on an old dictionary. Walking over the Headmaster grabbed some parchment, a quill, and the sorting hat. Placing the sorting hat upside down, and opened the dictionary to a random page, dropped his finger and picked a random word. Writing it down, he flipped to a new page and tried again.

When he had chosen 50 random words, he torn up the parchment and dropped all the words into the sorting hat. Carrying the hat back to his desk, he sat down, popped a lemon drop in his mouth, and readied himself.

Sticking his hand in the hat, he ignored the shrieks of sexual harassment and chose a single piece of parchment.

"And the first word will be... Nitwit." Dumbledore put the piece down and quickly chose the second.

"Second word will be... Blubber!" Dumbledore hummed happily to himself at his ingenious idea for writing a speech.

* * *

Superman Vs. Kei...The Winner is... Kei!

Honestly it was a landslide. Kei-38 votes, Man of Steel- 8, and Neither- 1 vote.

This time I have thought up a very interesting question! Who would win in a fight?

Kakashi protecting Kei or a mother dragon protecting her eggs?

Food for thought eh?

Oh speaking of food I recently had a delicious banana cream pie cupcake, that made my mouth water. I recommend one if you ever stumble upon them.


	29. Chapter 29

Disclaimer: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

Warnings: _Language, OC'ness, Het, Slash, underage, fluff, smut, and abuse to the author, Loss of Kei's cuteness._

_Beta: FEARMEfrancis_

**Letter Limbo**

Amelia Bones sat in her office, going over the tedious paperwork that never ended. As she picked up a report, an owl flew into the room. Watching it lazily, Amelia waited for the bird to settle down, before relieving it of its burden. Promising to deliver the letter, Amelia sent the bird on its way, and placed the envelope down.

Staring at the cream coloured parchment envelope, Amelia let out a single sigh, and flipped it over to reveal the emerald ink.

_Mr. Harry Potter_

_Location Unknown_

Knowing she would need to deliver it soon, Amelia tucked the letter away into a drawer, and focussed back on work. She would go see Harry and her sister after the weekend. After all, Susan had also received her letter, and Amelia had promised her niece a sleepover with Hannah, and a full shopping trip.

o.O.o

Sasuke slowly stepped inside the hospital room, and his eyes went straight to Kei. The little jounin was sleeping, but what Sasuke really noticed was the bandages covering majority of the boy's face. They went over his left eye, and made the boy resemble his sensei even more. It was frightening to see Kei in such a state when Sasuke had always admired the boy a little.

Ever since the first time Sasuke saw him fight, he never thought that such a prodigy would be hurt like this. He knew that no one was invincible, but knowing and seeing were two different things.

"Sasuke-kun, what are you doing here?"

Sasuke's head snapped to the side of Kei's bed where Kakashi was sitting, holding Kei's hand.

"I wanted to see how Kei was doing and return this." Sasuke held out Kakashi's orange book.

"Did you read it?" Kakashi asked. Sasuke didn't know how but he knew that the Old Jounin was grinning at him.

"Of course not! I'm not a pervert like you." Sasuke hotly defended himself. And it was true, he didn't open the book, or accidently drop it so it opened.

"Are you sure? You're blushing a little Sasuke-kun." Kakashi teased.

"I didn't!" Sasuke bit back, fighting down his blush.

"Would you like to know what's inside?" Kakashi asked, grinning even more.

"I told you I'm not a pervert."

"Who said this book was anything perverted?" Kakashi asked innocently.

"Of course it is, everyone knows that's all you read." Sasuke argued. It was true; it was the first thing he ever learned about Hatake, Kakashi. He was a huge pervert.

"Things aren't always as they seem Sasuke-kun." Kakashi sang as he waved the book.

Sasuke had to agree with that statement at least. How long had he thought Yuki was a guardian ghost girl, and had turned out to be Kei?

"Are you saying you are not a pervert?" Sasuke doubtfully asked.

"Take a peek." Kakashi grinned while holding out the book.

Sasuke cautiously took the book, and mentally prepared himself for whatever scar inducing sentence would pop off the page. Flipping it open he was confused to see... a child's drawing?

Flipping thought he book, he saw more drawings, and journal entries. Stopping on one page, Sasuke read.

_Nii-san! Guess what! Today Makoto and I were at this little tea shop in the Land of Iron, and some girl walked past. I don't know what she did, but Makoto went red and slipped his hot tea all over his lap. _

_As he tried to fan his pants to cool the tea, he hit the table making his pudding land in his lap as well. He stood up cursing, and then some old woman came along and beat him with her cane, telling him he was a pervert to be doing such things in the presence of a child. I couldn't stop laughing at him, and then the old woman bought me dango!_

Sasuke flipped to another page and saw a picture. There was a tall man that looked like Kakashi-sensei and then a smaller version of the man, one eye and all. Surrounding them were several dogs, and then a note at the bottom. _'Someday I'll be just like Nii-san!'_

Sasuke smiled at the picture, and then felt his face fall at the note. It seemed Kei got his wish, at least in the appearance department.

"So you're not reading a filthy book at all?" Sasuke asked while handing the book back.

"I used to, and still do sometimes, but now I only carry this book around. Well there are six others like this, with different stories, and pictures. Without Kei, I think I would have given up long ago." Kakashi admitted.

Sasuke watched as the Jounin, turned back to Kei and gazed at him fondly.

"So he has always made these for you?"

Kakashi turned back to Sasuke and smiled again. "Yes. When he was four he stumbled upon one of my less then appropriate books. I caught him before he could read it, but he was desperate to know what was inside.

I told him it was my journal and that it was wrong to read someone else's thoughts. I didn't know why, but Kei suddenly wanted his own orange journal and was wandering around the market, asking people if they knew where he could buy one.

When I finally found him there were several angry women waiting by Kei to scold me. Needless to say I finally found him an orange journal and he started writing in it immediately. A month later he proudly presented it to me and said 'Nii-san It's okay if you read my journal, I'm giving it to you so you aren't stuck with our own thoughts all the time.' Then he kept making more and more, and I have cherished every single one."

"Kakashi-sensei, you said that if it weren't for Kei you would have given up? Why?" Sasuke didn't expect an answer but that question had been bugging him.

"Sasuke-kun... I went through a bad time. Everyone that was precious to me died. My father, Obito, my sensei, and Rin... I didn't know what to do with myself anymore. The days just passed by in a blur, but the one day I was called to the Hokage's office and then I was given Kei." Sasuke noticed that Kakashi never looked away from Kei, and never let go of his hand.

"So Kei isn't really your brother? You just adopted him?" Sasuke was confused. They looked too much alike not to be related.

"Kei was a cousin of mine, but I adopted him, and when he was three I officially made him my brother. "

"How did you make him your brother?"

"Fam-ily se-cret!" Kakashi sang, as he gave Sasuke a brief eye smile.

Sasuke took a seat, and mulled over the new information he gained. He looked at Kei and couldn't help but smiling. Kei and Yuki were exactly the same. Kei hadn't changed anything about himself when he assumed the role of Yuki. He literally just put on a kimono and changed his name.

Sasuke couldn't be upset at Kei. The boy had helped him, even though they never met. Kei had always listened to him, he helped with his training, brought him food, and was a comforting presence. Sasuke didn't think any shinobi could have such a large and caring heart like Kei did. It was a mystery to him how Kei was still so innocent and sweet, when he took missions that made him steal, torture, and kill.

"Do you think that if I were more like Kei, Itachi would have stayed or at least taken me with him when he left?" Sasuke asked. It hurt thinking that if he were only better, Itachi wouldn't have felt the need to slaughter their clan and leave him.

"I don't think it would have changed anything. Itachi and Kei were close. They trained together, they played together, and at one point just after they met, Kei announced he would marry Itachi. I quickly shot down that idea and told him what marriage really was, and well that issue never arose again." Kakashi gave a dark chuckle. Sasuke doubted he had told Kei a true representation of marriage.

"But what I am trying to say is that Itachi had you and Kei, and two Kei's wouldn't have made a difference. No one saw that coming, although we should have. You were a great child; it's Itachi that needed to change to have prevented that incident."

After Kakashi's reassurance, the pair slipped into a comfortable silence. After awhile though, Sasuke decided to break it.

"So is Kei going to be okay?" He asked.

Kakashi looked up and had a sad expression. "Tsunade and Rikoto have healed everything they could. They healed all internal damage, and then stitched and bandaged most of the larger wounds. Kei's left eye couldn't be helped though. They said it was too deeply cut for them to save. But, there's nothing stopping him from being a shinobi. He will just need a few days to adjust with one eye, and he'll be back to his old self."

Sasuke studied his sensei and noticed that he was completely exhausted looking. "Kakashi-sensei, why don't you go home? I can stay with Kei, and you can rest, or get something to eat." Sasuke offered.

Kakashi looked surprised at the offer, but after a few moments contemplating it, he caved. "I will go get something to eat, and shower, but then I will come right back. I want to be around when Kei wakes up. Don't let anything happen to him!" Kakashi warned.

"Yes, Sensei." Sasuke gave a small smile at his sensei's protectiveness.

Kakashi gave a nod and then left the room. Sasuke stood from his seat, and took Kakashi's place by the bed, lightly holding Kei's hand.

"Kei-chan, even though you're not a girl, I still want you by my side when I start a family." Sasuke whispered.

o.O.o

Sasuke woke up from his light nap when he heard the window open. Barely moving his hand, Sasuke felt that Kei's fingers trapped between his own. Sasuke kept his breathing even, feigning sleep as he tried to assess if they new person was a threat or not.

When the intruder came up the other side of Kei's bed, Sasuke cracked one eye open, and saw a man he had never seen before. Acting quickly, Sasuke jumped up, and using the bed for leverage pushed his body up and sent a kick towards the intruders head.

The intruder dodged and retreated to the back of the room. Sasuke placed his body in between the intruder and Kei.

"What do you want?" Sasuke demanded.

The intruder sneered at him, and before recognition lit up his eyes.

"Well, if it isn't Uchiha, Sasuke. You just made my job easier." The intruder purred.

"What do you want?" Sasuke repeated.

"Well I was sent to retrieve you for Orochimaru-sama, but I thought stopping by here to finish what I started earlier with the brat, would be fun." The Intruder said as he leered over Sasuke's shoulder to Kei.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes further in a fiercer glare at the intruder's words and actions.

"I will never go to Orochimaru, and I won't let you touch Kei."

The intruder smirked at him. Sasuke's eyes widened when the intruders shadow seemed to squirm then grow. As it got larger, Sasuke realized it wasn't the intruders' shadow, but an actual person coming out of the man's back. It was gross.

Suddenly a kunai flew past Sasuke's ear, and landed inches from the intruders face. Looking over his shoulder, Sasuke saw that Kei was sitting up in the bed, and had one hand inside a weapons pouch on his night table.

"Sakon I see that ANBU failed to kill you." Kei lazily drawled as if his life wasn't in danger.

"Chibi-chan, I'm so glad you're awake. I like seeing the pain in your eyes." Sakon leered again.

"Is it just you, or are your sick friends hanging around somewhere?" Kei asked, as he withdrew a single kunai and spun it between his fingers.

"Unfortunately they weren't as skilled as me, and didn't escape your black clad animals fast enough." Sakon said with an exaggerated pout.

"So you were the faster runner, congratulations."

"But not as fast as that woman you were with, in the woods. My, my... she was quick." Sakon teased.

"Sakon, you only managed to capture me earlier because you had help, do you really think you can take me by yourself?"Kei asked.

"Peace, Peace, chibi-chan. I have more important things to discuss with Uchiha-kun here. I can't fight you right now." Sakon held up his hands in surrender, the other person retreating behind Sakon's body.

"I have nothing to talk about with you. I refuse to go to Orochimaru." Sasuke declared.

"But you didn't even listen." Sakon pouted again. "Orochimaru-sama promises you power. He'll train you personally and make you strong enough to kill your brother. Don't you want that Uchiha-kun? Do you want to have enough power to get revenge on the brother who betrayed you?" Sakon said in a sickly sweet tone. "Orochimaru-sama can give it to you."

"I don't want anything he is offering." Sasuke adamantly refused.

"Then how about coming with me to save some one precious to you?"

"Whatever you try won't work on me."

"What about to save chibi-chan?" Sakon asked.

Sasuke was about to refuse again, when he heard a yelp from behind him. Turning he saw that Sakon's doppelganger had managed to sneak up on Kei and now held a kunai to his throat.

"Agree to come with me quietly, and I will let chibi-chan live. You care for him don't you? After all I did see you lovingly holding his hand, and whispering his name in your sleep." Sakon chuckled darkly at the end.

"Kei..." Sasuke whispered forlornly. He was torn. He had promised Kakashi-sensei that he wouldn't let anything happen to Kei.

"All you have to do is agree and you save chibi-chan's life." Sakon taunted.

Kei glared at Sasuke darkly, harshly telling him to not listen to the enemy, with his eyes. Sasuke wanted to listen but his need to protect Kei was bigger. Sighing and mentally praying that one day Kei and Kakashi would forgive him, Sasuke agreed.

"I'll go just leave Kei alone."

"Good choice. We will leave now before you can change your mind."

"Let Kei go first." Sasuke demanded.

"Not until you leave this room." Sakon countered.

"How do I know your doppelganger won't slit his throat as soon as I leave?" Sasuke fiercely asked.

"We will go through the window and you can watch as Ukon releases chibi-chan." Sakon bargained.

"Fine." Sasuke grudgingly conceded.

Before leaving Sasuke took a letter out of his pocket and placed it on the table beside Kei. He had written it earlier and had planned on just leaving it for the boy after Kakashi returned, but it seemed he wouldn't be able to see his sensei again.

Regretfully turning towards Kei, Sasuke used his eyes to plead for forgiveness from Kei. Kei looked back at him sadly, and Sasuke could almost hear Kei reassuring him, although it should the other way around.

Taking a deep breath, Sasuke jumped out the window with Sakon. Watching carefully, he didn't let his eyes stray as Ukon let go of Kei and left the room, coming outside to merge with Sakon again. It was still gross.

o.O.o

Kei watched as Sasuke left with the sound nin. Sending out chakra flares, he summoned the nearest ANBU to him, and told the elite shinobi to warn the Hokage that Sasuke had left with an enemy nin to join Orochimaru.

Kei felt his heart hurting as much as the day that Itachi left to join the Akatsuki.

When Tsunade arrived seconds after Kakashi returned, Kei told them both a very detailed account of the encounter. He stressed Sasuke reluctance to leave. Tsunade had left quickly afterwards to set out a retrieval team.

Once she was gone Kakashi seemed to collapse in the chair closest to Kei. Grabbing Kei's hand Kakashi looked directly into Kei's eye and said.

"I'm seriously considering locking you up in the apartment until we both die."

o.O.o

Tsunade banged her head against her desk repeatedly. She had just taken over as Hokage and already everything was falling apart. Kei had gotten seriously hurt because of her poor judgement, she lost the only Uchiha left, and Shizune had banned Sake from her office. Why did she ever agree to take this position?

Tsunade lifted her head when her door opened, and she saw Kakashi stalking in, she quickly went back to banging her head.

"I'm sorry." She groaned out.

"Sorry?" Kakashi hissed.

"Yes I'm sorry! It was a simple escort mission to a town a few hours away. I thought they would annoy each other a bit and be done. How was I supposed to know that the woman was such a bitter bitch? All the reports about her form the academy are glowing!" Tsunade argued.

"That's because the staff is mainly males and she had big boobs!" Kakashi yelled.

Tsunade felt her eyebrow twitch in annoyance. "At least she contacted the ANBU and you." Tsunade yelled back.

"But she still ran away. That was the second time she left my Kei alone with enemies, and he almost died again!"

"I know!" Tsunade yelled, but then she sighed as if she lost all energy and will to fight. "I know... I'm dealing with her soon. "

"Good, and if you ever think to put her on mission with my Kei again, I will have Sarutobi looking for a fifth." Kakashi threatened before leaving the office.

Tsunade went back to banging her head off the desk. Maybe it wasn't too late to tell Sarutobi that you could never be too old to be Hokage.

o.O.o

Tsunade stared at the weird woman sitting comfortably on her couch, sipping tea. The woman had casually strolled up the front gate half an hour ago, asking to see Sarutobi and a Harry Potter. The guards, confused, had sent a messenger to Tsunade, asking her for further orders.

She sent a message back asking for the strangers' name. They sent her a message saying it was Amelia Bones and she was an old friend of Sarutobi's. Tsunade had then sent a messenger to Sarutobi asking if he knew the woman.

He responded that he indeed knew the woman, and would happily meet her at Tsunade's office after he retrieved Kei, Kakashi and Makoto. Tsunade didn't know why he needed those three, but she sent her tired messenger off to retrieve the woman and bring her back here.

The woman had walked in and made a pleasant comment about the new decor, and sat down primly, somehow asking one of the ANBU guards for tea. Tsunade felt her patience quickly draining as the woman then proceeded to ignore her and all the questions she asked.

Amelia Bones mentally laughed at the frustrated and highly annoyed Hokage. It was always great amusement when she annoyed people with simple actions. Fudge was another leader that she enjoyed riling up.

When Sarutobi finally arrived, he walked in with Makoto, joking around about a funny prank his grandson performed. Tsunade felt her eye twitch growing when her window was thrown open to admit two others, causing her paperwork to scatter.

"Now that everyone is here, would someone tell me what is going on?" Tsunade harshly demanded.

"Tsunade-hime, you shouldn't get this stressed out in the morning, it's bad for your health." Sarutobi lightly chastised her.

Tsunade wanted to punch him.

"Amelia my dear, it's been awhile." Sarutobi greeted the strange woman, ignoring the killing intent coming from the new Hokage.

"Sarutobi, now that you have retired I expect more visits from you." Amelia responded kindly.

"We can catch up later, but I believe you have some business to discuss," Sarutobi cut straight to the point.

Tsunade mentally cheered that she would finally learn why she had a strange woman wearing strange clothes sitting in her office.

"I have young Harry's letter with my today. It's that time my old friend." Amelia explained.

"So much time has passed already?"

"I know time flies. The other day when I was taking my niece for school supplies it finally hit me, and I felt older than my years."

"To me you will forever look 28, my dear."

"Oh you old charmer," Amelia said while waving her hand.

"Just get to the point!" Tsunade snapped. Old people took forever to get anywhere! Her age aside.

"Right, right. I think I will start from the beginning. Maybe everyone should have a seat." Sarutobi suggested.

Kakashi instantly picked up Kei and settled on the window bench, Kei sitting in his lap, and Makoto sitting beside them. Sarutobi claimed the comfortable chair, and Tsunade stayed in her seat.

"Now many years ago, just as Kei was nearing age two he was brought to Konoha. Amelia was part of the team who retrieved Kei along with Kotetsu and Izumo. Kei was then named Potter, Harry. When Kakashi adopted him, he renamed him, and raised him as his younger brother."

No one except Tsunade was surprised by this news.

"Where Kei originally comes from they don't use chakra like we do. There is a group of special people that use magic. Kei is from that special group."

Everyone turned towards Tsunade to see her reaction.

"Magic?" She asked doubtfully.

"Magic." Sarutobi responded.

"Magic..." Tsunade said sceptically.

"Magic." Sarutobi affirmed.

"There is no such thing." Tsunade declared.

"There is, and Kei can use it." Amelia cut in.

"So I'm a magician?" Kei asked excitedly. After all if Sarutobi-sama said it existed then it did.

"A wizard, not a magician." Amelia explained.

"Now as I was saying," Sarutobi took hold of the conversation again. "That special group have a school where they teach magic. When a witch or wizard turns 11, they are invited to that school. Kei has received a letter to attend."

"No." Tsunade declared.

Everyone looked at her again, some (Kei, Kakashi, and Makoto) wishing they had snacks for the show.

"Excuse me?" Amelia asked as she stiffened her posture.

"We just took a devastating blow to this village, and are swamped with mission requests. I refuse to let one of my best ninja leave, to go learn something that I don't even believe is real." Tsunade explained. She wanted Sake.

"Two of your best." Kakashi threw out.

"Two? Kakashi I am not letting you leave, you still have a Genin team!" Tsunade argued.

"Not me, Makoto. Kei does not leave the village without Makoto."

"I will no-"

"I think Tsunade-hime has a point." Sarutobi cut in.

"Huh?" The Hatake gang asked.

"Well the village is still rebuilding, and losing two of the best would make us suffer even more. What if instead of Kei going now, we postpone his acceptance a year. The next six months, Kei-chan, and Makoto-kun will take as many missions as they can. Then after six months, they will go with Amelia. They will spend six months learning about the new culture and language to prepare for the school year.

Not only will Kei be able to learn to harness this new tool, but he could look into think that could benefit the village, maybe even get his eye checked out."

Everyone looked at the still bandaged eye that Kei was attempting to cover with his bangs and forehead protector.

"I think you're plan has merit." Amelia supported.

"That could work." Kei said.

"As long as Makoto goes with him." Kakashi demanded.

"Do they have pudding where you're from?" Makoto asked.

"Don't I get a say? I am the Hokage!" Tsunade yelled. No one listened.

"Well then that's all settled. I think I will escort Amelia here back to the gates." Sarutobi clapped his hands and stood up.

"Wait! What other secrets are you keeping from me old man?" Tsunade demanded. Sarutobi entered her office at least every other day telling her something he forget that was important and a village secret. Just like that Itachi thing.

"I was born with a tail." Sarutobi calmly stated.

"What!" Tsunade screamed as she stood up from her desk.

"Well, no, I wasn't, but it was fun to see your face." Sarutobi chuckled. "Forgive an old man for his amusement."

Tsunade felt her eye twitching out of control. Why did she ever agree to this?

"I still think we have to discuss this magic issue." Tsunade stated but in the next moment, her office was empty.

She was going to resign; she had to if she wanted to stay sane.

* * *

Because I think this chapter needs more Tsunade.

**OMAKE**

Tsunade had just snuck out of her office, attempting to avoid the ever expanding mass of paperwork when she saw a Sake cup. Looking around for anything suspicious, she affirmed that her location was secure. Walking towards the Sake cup, she spotted another, with a little bit of Sake in it.

Rushing over, Tsunade quickly drained the few days and sighed in bliss. Looking down she found another cup with a few more drops, and another after that. Cheering the Hokage quickly followed the Sake cups until she reached a room where a single Sake bottle lay in the middle.

Throwing caution to the wind, Tsunade ran into the room and grabbed the bottle, crushing it to her chest. Tsunade was broken from her daydream of swimming in a Sake River when the door behind slammed shut and was locked.

"You are not leaving until you finish all that paperwork!" Shizune yelled.

Tsunade finally looked around and wanted to cry when she saw the piles and piles of paperwork waiting for her. However she stood straighter when she remembered her bottle of Sake.

Lifting the bottle to her lips, Tsunade did break into tears when, the bottle turned out to be empty.

Shizune laughed happily as she walked away from the door, swinging the key in her hand.

* * *

So... Kakashi won. Honestly I think the dragon got 4 votes...

I thought the dragon would get more support with the whole big firebreathing body that is renders weapons and spells useless. But Kakashi is clearly a master of all killing.

Okay Question! Who would win? Kakashi or The Green Lantern?


	30. Chapter 30

Disclaimer: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

Warnings: _Language, OC'ness, Het, Slash, I think my beta was drunk when she edited this...but im posting anyways cause I think it's funny, smart and dumb shinobi, and abuse to the author, Loss of Kei's cuteness._

_Beta: FEARMEfrancis_

**Tsunade Tsunami**

Kei entered the hospital room balancing several sticks of dango, and a few cans of juice. When he looked up he smiled happily at the sight of Kiba up and awake.

"I brought snacks to cheer you up." Kei announced while he put all the items he was carrying down.

"Thanks Kei. I just got a little roughed up, there's no reason they have to confine me to this bed." Kiba pouted.

Kei carefully climbed on the bed, trying to avoid aggravating the worst of Kiba's wounds. "The way I heard it, they had to carry you back unconscious."

"It was that Sasuke bastard! He surprised me that's all. Then the bastard had the nerve to say something about you before he ran away." Kiba growled.

"Me?"

"Yeah it was weird. We were fighting, then he got a good hit on me, and he just turned and started to run away. Only before he got too far he turned back and said to me 'I'm doing this for Kei-chan.' Then just took off again." Kiba looked at Kei with a bemused expression. "I didn't think you two were close or anything."

"We aren't." Kei lied. "I helped Nii-san train his team a little before the Chuunin exams, but I didn't spend any more time with Sasuke than I did the other two. Maybe another Kei?"

Kiba didn't seemed convinced. "I have this feeling that he meant you. I just don't know why."

"Well... he did stop an enemy nin from killing me while I was in the hospital. The enemy told him to go with him or I die, he could have probably meant that." Kei tried.

"No, I don't think so. Why was Sasuke in your room to start with, and why would he give up everything for you. What's the real reason Kei?" Kiba persisted.

Kei didn't want to tell Kiba about Yuki, or the letter Sasuke gave him. He couldn't. He knew his friend was a little possessive of him, and he wasn't sure how Kiba would react if he thought that Sasuke was attempting to steal his friend away. Kei would never stop being friends with Kiba just because of Sasuke. Kiba was his best friend and had been for years. He wouldn't understand it...

"I don't know that actual reasons, but I did know that Sasuke used to idolize me. I guess he saw me during my own Chuunin exams, and wanted to be able to fight like me or something, but maybe the thought of his idol dying made him react irrationally." Kei argued.

It was true, he knew that Sasuke idolized him. The letter had said that at one point. So really, Kei wasn't lying, he just wasn't saying the whole truth.

"Maybe..." Kiba still seemed sceptical about the whole thing. "I can respect him a little for saving your life. But, I'm pissed at him more since it kinda looks like he's playing heroic to win you or something." Kiba finished grumbling.

"Don't worry about. But I need to go see the Hokage. She called for me two hours ago, but I thought visiting you would be more fun." Kei said.

"You have only been here 10 minutes... what did you do the rest of the time?" Kiba asked.

"I napped." Kei stated simply before he slipped out.

o.O.o

Kei jumped through the window of the Hokage's office, and settled on his window bench.

"Hokage-sama." Kei said to announce his presence.

Tsunade looked up from her paperwork with a surprised expression. "Oh so you finally decided to show up." Tsunade didn't let him answer before she summoned one of the ANBU guards to ask for Sarutobi to come.

"Hokage-sama, I was wondering if I could talk to you about Sasuke. Something Kiba said to me made me think of it." Kei started.

"That's fine, I actually have something to discuss with after this meeting." Tsunade replied.

"What's this meeting about?" Kei wondered.

"Hogwarts."

Kei was going to question her, but the door opened to admit Sarutobi, and Amelia Bones.

Sarutobi-sama, Bones-san." Kei said as he bowed his head to the pair.

"Take a seat..." Tsunade offered.

Once everyone was seated, Tsunade gave a cruel smirk, before forming a series of hand seals and locking down the office.

"I think that is a little extreme for tea, Tsunade," Sarutobi spoke up.

"No fancy words, riddles, or jokes today. I want to know why you two were pushing so hard for Kei to return to your world, Bones-san. He is a shinobi, grew up as a shinobi, only knows shinobi ways, he has no reason to return to your culture, yet you persist so much. Why?" Tsunade demanded.

Kei was surprised. He had been curious about the reasons as well, but figured Sarutobi would reveal everything to him in time, like he always did. But for Tsunade to demand them immediately was a nice change. Kei smiled thinking that she did make a good Kage after all.

"I believe that's fair, perhaps Amelia would care to explain." Sarutobi instantly surrendered.

Bones looked a little upset, but smoothed her appearance and started. "Kei isn't simply an ordinary orphan. There was a war between the light side and the dark. The leader of the dark was named Voldemort. He was a fierce man, with an army of men and spells to accomplish almost anything he wanted.

No one is quite sure what happened, but one night, Voldemort went to Kei's parents' home, and killed them. Kei didn't die though, and Voldemort's body was never found. Albus Dumbledore, the leader of the light, proclaimed that Kei defeated Voldemort, and Kei became an instant celebrity." Amelia finished.

"So Kei is a celebrity, and that is the reason for you to insist he return to your world? I think that is just another reason for me to refuse to let him go." Tsunade argued.

"Harry Potter needs to attend Hogwarts." Amelia stated.

"No he doesn't. If Kei is a celebrity as you say, then he would have people follow his every step once he sets foot back in your world. What if they follow him back here, and they demand him back? What if this Voldemort's followers follow him here and try to kill him, destroying my village in the process?

They have not found him here yet, and I have yet to see a good enough reason to give them a chance to find him. What will he gain from learning your magic? He is a great shinobi, he had killed many, and will still kill many. He has progressed this far without magic, and I fail to see why he suddenly needs it now." Tsunade fiercely told the others, unconsciously placing her body between the other two.

"An untrained wizard is dangerous. Their magic can get out of control and hurt others or themselves. I'm sure you have heard rumours of strange things happening around Kei. They may start with a floating book, but may end with the destruction of a building if the child is particularly emotional." Amelia argued.

"Kei have you ever floated a book? Anything unexplainable ever happen to you?" Tsunade asked, refusing to remove her glare from the foreign woman.

"No books, but I did mysteriously escape once when I was captured. Oh and Kabuto... I don't remember using chakra to do that to his chest." Kei offered.

"See you have shown signs of accidental magic, and one was apparently violent." Amelia pointed out.

"Kabuto was a traitor to the village, and would have only gone to join his sick master and killed hundreds." Tsunade didn't back down. "It was violent but it helped the village. His mission was to kill Kabuto, and as long as it was done, I don't care how he accomplished it."

Amelia looked a little green at the thought of Kei killing but didn't speak on it. "You say you don't care how he accomplishes things, then let him learn magic. It would be another tool for him to use."

"That may be so, but he is still a celebrity that will pose a security risk. This isn't about one shinobi but the entire village."

"Then he won't go back as Harry Potter. He can put him down as Hatake, Kei if you wish, but you can't deny that he needs to be trained in magic." Sarutobi cut in.

"Besides Kei learning a new skill, that may or may not be beneficial to him, I have yet to see how this will help the village. By taking Kei and Makoto away, I lose two able shinobi that can complete hundreds of missions that bring money to the village.

I know that this school won't take him for a few months and return as a capable magician. How long is this schooling? How long do you propose that I let a shinobi leave for?" Tsunade asked the two.

"Hogwarts has a curriculum of seven years-"

"Seven years! You expect me to send a shinobi away for seven years? I might as well strip him of his shinobi status and throw him out, because either way he is useless to Konoha."

Kei felt a little hurt at the words. While learning a new skill would be fun, he never wanted to be useless to Konoha. He would argue alongside Tsunade if it meant he could still help and protect the village. Konoha was his home, and some magic school would not take that away from him.

"I agree with the Hokage. I won't let Kei be taken away from seven years." Kakashi said as he dropped from the ceiling, standing beside Tsunade.

"Kakashi! When did you get here?" Tsunade asked in a slightly stunned state.

"I came in the same time as Kei. I just hid really well." Kakashi gave the Hokage an eye smile, before turning back to the pair plotting to steal Kei away.

Kei held in a giggle at the incident. He had known his brother was there, but he had been more interested in the fight over his future.

"We should at least ask Kei what he wants." Sarutobi said.

Kei stepped forward, and stated simply, "I will not be useless to my village."

"Kei-chan-"

Kei waved his hand, cutting Sarutobi off. "However, if you could explain to me how magic might be able to benefit the village as a whole, I will consider talking with the Hokage about going for one school year."

All parties seemed to think over Kei's words, weighing the pro's and con's.

"There are wards." Amelia said, breaking the silence.

"Wards?" Kei prompted.

"Wards are basically invisible barriers that you can put around your house, or in this case village. There are some that can: block anybody with harmful intent entering, some to keep out animals, ones that can alert the Hokage to intruders. There are wards for everything, and if you want to learn something to benefit the village, I would suggest learning wards."

Tsunade sat back, clearly thinking deeply about the new information.

"I can learn wards in a year?" Kei asked.

"No. Witches and Wizards generally need to learn the basic of magic and theory, and then work their way up to bigger and stronger magic. Warding is very precise and difficult magic to learn."

"So he will be gone for seven years. By being away that long he will be labelled a missing-nin." Tsunade pointed out.

"He won't be gone for seven years completely. He will have two and half months for summer vacation that he can return, and holidays."

"That's fine and all, but there still two issues. Kei is on a continuous S-rank mission, which he can't abandon or pass off. What happens when he is needed here, for that mission?"

Kakashi shot a look at Kei at the mention of a continuous S-rank mission bit. They were rare, and usually only handled by shinobi who have demonstrated their loyalty to Konoha several times over. While Kei was good, he had failed to see when he could have been given such a mission in his young life that could have otherwise gone to a more experienced shinobi.

Kei gave a sheepish look, and shrug of the shoulders in return.

"If he is called away then I can give him a portkey, and say that he had a family emergency." Amelia offered.

"He is also needed for a week at the start of November? What then?" Tsunade asked, trying to cover everything.

"A religious event that he must return home to."

Tsunade nodded her head, before continuing. "And Makoto? He is 21, I think hardly think you have a good reason for his presence at Kei's side."

Amelia took a few minutes to think before answering. "There is a Defence Against the Dark Arts class, it focuses on spell work, but I think I can convince the ministry and the board of governors to add a physical aspect to the class. Makoto could be fitness instructor."

"I need to think this over still, but for now have Harry Potter taken off the register. _If _Kei were to go, then he would go as Hatake, Kei, not Harry Potter." Tsunade quickly dismissed them after that, and turned towards the two brothers.

"Kakashi, can you go find Makoto and send him here. I have a mission for him and Kei, now that he is better." Tsunade commanded.

"Yes Hokage-sama." Kakashi said before swooping down and giving Kei a kiss on the cheek, and leaving.

Tsunade dropped her head on her desk and groaned. "You are entirely too much trouble Kei."

"I'm sorry Hokage-sama." Kei said as he opened the mini fridge to grab a drink.

Tsunade lifted her head. "Kei, Uchiha, Sasuke left this village claiming it was for your benefit. I want to know if you can turn him into another Itachi."

"Itachi?"

"Yes, I want you to go and find him, and convince him to pass information between Orochimaru's camp and ours."

"I was thinking of asking you for the opportunity anyways Hokage-sama." Kei said in way of agreeing.

"Good." Tsunade said as Makoto entered the office.

"Now, I have a mission for you two. We received intelligence of Uchiha, Sasuke's current position. You are to go to him. Kei knows the rest of the orders." Tsunade handed over a scroll containing the mission details. "The only problem is... that you have two... restrictions to deal with." Tsunade said in a hesitant tone.

"Restrictions, Hokage-sama?" Makoto asked.

"Two others have overheard of Sasuke's location, and are insistent they go. With Sai still in the hospital, and my need to shut them up, they will accompany you on this mission." Tsunade lightly told them.

"Who?" Kei asked, worried.

o.O.o

Kei felt his eye twitch as the pair behind him continued to bicker. Since they left the village Naruto and Sakura had been at each other's throat, arguing over who would speak to Sasuke first.

"Shut Up!" Kei harshly spat at them, finally snapping. "Neither of you will talk with him, and if you keep up this fighting then we will never see him. All this fighting does is tell anyone listening in, what our mission is. You are compromising this mission because you're both to childish to shut up." Kei scolded them.

"Kei-chan is right." Makoto added. "You are giving away important details of our mission. Be quiet, and follow. That is all we ask from you."

"Why are you two here anyways?" Naruto asked, looking away with a put-out expression. "It should be Kakashi-sensei here. Sasuke was out teammate."

"Yeah, there is no reason for the two of you to be here. We will talk to Sasuke and convince him to come back to the village." Sakura supported Naruto for once.

"Uchiha, Sasuke is a traitor. He will not be welcomed back to the village. The only reason you two are here is because the Hokage was tired of hearing your voices." Makoto told them.

"No he will be welcomed back! Sasuke isn't a traitor!" Sakura yelled. "Did the Hokage send you to kill Sasuke?" She hesitantly asked after a moment.

"We carry out our missions as the Hokage commands." Kei told them with a glare.

"No... no! I can convince Baa-san to listen to me. I can get her to change her mind about killing Sasuke." Naruto argued.

"The Hokage has already made her decision on this matter. You will not fight, argue, or do anything to prevent Kei and I from completing this mission. If I hear another word about talking to Uchiha, Sasuke, both of you will walk back to the village by yourselves." Makoto harshly stated.

"I will never forgive you for killing Sasuke." Sakura whispered, her eyes watering.

"Neither will I." Naruto added in a solemn whisper. After that they were silent.

As the continued on, Kei couldn't help thinking that he wouldn't forgive himself either if he had to kill Sasuke.

o.O.o

"What are we doing here again?" Naruto asked as the group sat in shadows on a roof.

"The informant said that Uchiha, Sasuke is staying in this inn while he waits for an Orochimaru lackey to escort him to Orochimaru's base. We are waiting for Sasuke to leave, Uzumaki and Haruno will stay here and watch the inn, for anybody suspicious, while Makoto and I follow the Uchiha." Kei explained in a quiet monotone voice.

"Why can't-"

"Shut Up!" Makoto interrupted Sakura, already knowing what the girl was going to ask.

"What if we're seen?" Naruto asked.

"You don't have to worry about that, since you're not leaving this roof." Kei stated.

"But what if-"

"Shh.." Kei cut Sakura off. "He's coming."

Sure enough, Sasuke stepped out of the inn, and looked around suspiciously. Seeing no one, he walked off.

"Makoto..." Kei whispered.

"Ready." Makoto responded, handing Kei a pretty kimono. It was the last kimono Kei wore as Yuki, and Kei was certain Sasuke would recognize it.

"Is that a girls kimono?" Sakura asked.

"They always underestimate the pretty girl in a kimono." Kei answered.

"But I thought I was staying on the roof." Sakura asked with a very bemused expression.

"You are. Kei is the pretty girl." Makoto absently answered as he unwound the fabric for the obi.

"Kei...? But he's a guy, and Sakura is the pretty girl here." Naruto said as he scrunched up his nose.

"Kei passes for a very beautiful girl." Makoto said with a mysterious smile.

Kei sent him a small glare but quickly put on the clothing, removing various weapons along the way. When he was dressed, Kei leapt from the rooftop, removing his mask on the way down. His forehead protector was replaced with a pale pink ribbon to keep his bangs covering his injured eye. With the added bonus of giving him a more feminine hair style

Kei followed Sasuke's scent, and found the boy eating in a restaurant. Kei slipped in and sat at a table nearby and ordered a small amount of food. Upon hearing his voice, Sasuke looked over, and his eyes widened at the sight. Kei ignored him, and ate his food.

Kei finished moments after Sasuke, and paid his bill, leaving a flustered looking waiter behind. He left the restaurant and slowly walked his way through the village, keeping a lookout for a good place to talk. He saw a movie theatre and got in line to buy a ticket. Kei saw Sasuke buy one too, and he wandered over to the snack stand.

Kei waited until most of the seats were filled before finding two empty ones side by side. He sat down and waited a moment before Sasuke sat beside him. Kei didn't look or talk to the boy until the movie started.

"Kei what are you doing here?" Sasuke asked, the movie preventing anyone else from hearing.

"I was charged with asking you if you would be willing to be a spy for Konoha. To pass information to us about Orochimaru." Answered, pretending to be enthralled with the movie.

"S-spy?'

"Sasuke, I don't want you to spy, I don't want you to go to that man, but this is how things have played out. I ask this of you so that one day when that man is dead you can return to Konoha." Kei begged.

"I will do it of course, but how would I pass on information?" Sasuke asked.

"I will find a way. But if you ever urgently need to see me just send a message to Konoha for Valley of the Snow and I will appear where ever you designate." Kei explained.

"Kei I don't want you to do that. What if you get caught?" Sasuke desperately asked, barely keeping his voice quiet or eyes on the movie.

"You wouldn't be the first spy I have gather information from. Trust me I am a lot better at this than most." Kei assured his friend.

"Just promise to be safe? I can't stand the thought of you hurt." Sasuke asked.

"I will try my best to be safe. Actually I have a mission in a few months were I will be more than safe. Probably be immensely bored by it really."

"Rather you be bored than bleeding to death." Sasuke murmured.

"This movie sucks." Kei whispered in response.

"I agree." Sasuke chuckled, as he took hold of one of Kei's hands and gave it a squeeze. He didn't let it go until the movie finished.

o.O.o

Kei returned to his team, already changed.

"Okay let's go." He said in way of greeting, handing his disguise off to Makoto to seal away.

"Y-you... you killed him already?" Sakura asked. Tears already starting to fall down her cheeks.

"I completed the mission." Kei answered. "Now we go home."

Kei and Makoto didn't wait for any responses. They left, knowing the two crying teens behind them would follow.

* * *

Omake... omake... omake... I'm a little stuck on this. While I do get a great many wonderful suggestions, my brain is failing to make them into reality. So you get this.

**OMAKE**

Kakashi was perched on a rooftop waiting for the perfect moment to strike. He watched as his target got closer and closer. He watched as the target got more fidgety as they approached their final destination, and he smirked.

Just as the target was underneath him, Kakashi swooped down and stole the precious bundle in the targets hands. He fled as fast as he could.

Tsunade let out a distressed cry as she watched the white haired demon run away with the only bottle of Sake that she managed to sneak past Shizune.

* * *

Kakashi vs Green Lantern... Kakashi!

Someone suggested I use less popular characters...So I thought long and hard about this and...

Who would win in an eccentric battle? Guy or Dumbledore?

Honestly I think this battle is more evenly matched.


	31. Chapter 31

Disclaimer: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

Warnings: _Language, OC'ness, Het, Slash, underage, fluff, smut, and abuse to the author, Loss of Kei's cuteness._

_Beta: FEARMEfrancis_

_**Water Works**_

Kei lay on his window bench in Tsunade's office, casually throwing a ball up and catching it, repeating the process as he listened to Sakura and Naruto cry, and rant at the Hokage. Makoto sat on the couch, flipping through a magazine, and enjoying a nice cold drink he took from the fridge.

The partners hadn't been able to get a word in edgewise, since they entered the office. Once Naruto and Sakura stepped into the Hokage's office, they started crying, and demanding to know why the Hokage had ordered the death of Sasuke. Kei and Makoto had decided to relax, and wait for their chance to talk.

"He would have come back! I know he would have! If you had only given me the chance to talk to him, explain things, make him see reason, than Sasuke would still be alive." Naruto yelled.

"Sasuke has always wanted to rebuild his clan; there is no way he would have let that behind, he must have been being controlled in some way." Sakura tried to explain. "If we had tie we could have saved him."

Tsunade was doing a remarkable job of ignoring them and focussing on the bottle of Sake Kei had snuck in for her. It was only a small bottle, so she was savouring it, taking her time, enjoying the experience while she blocked out the two Genin in her office.

"-and then a ramen trail to lead him back home."

"-machine I say! I'm a baby carrying machine!"

Kei, Makoto, and Tsunade paused in their activities to look at the two Genin.

"Have you ever had a child before Sakura-can? And how do you know Uchiha-kun likes ramen at all Naruto?" Tsunade asked.

"Who doesn't love ramen?" Naruto yelled.

"Well no I haven't..." Sakura answered, blushing silently.

"Then how can you be a baby making machine?" Tsunade raised one questioning eyebrow at Sakura, before turning towards Naruto. "If you want to lay bait, than you should research more and find out what would lure your prey better than ramen."

"Well if you have given us time I could have found something to get Sasuke back here." Naruto argued.

"Listen you brat, I signed off on Sasuke's fate and then gave the mission to two very trusted shinobi. You can whine and complain all you like but they already did as I asked, and nothing you say can change that. Now, shut up! I want to hear the mission report." Tsunade commanded.

"Makoto you're up." Kei said in a sing song voice from his position.

Makoto slowly closed his magazine and placed it on the table.

"Kei and I left the village and were followed by two annoying animals."

"HEY!" Naruto and Sakura yelled, but Makoto carried on as if he didn't hear them.

"The animals almost ruined the mission with their constant bickering over a cookie, and screaming about the mission parameters. When we arrived at the destination, we set up surveillance. When the target was seen, Kei followed in disguise, and returned later, mission accomplished, to our and your satisfaction." Makoto said in a very businesslike tone. Once finished, he picked up his magazine and went back to flipping pages.

"Kei?"

"I followed the target to a restaurant and ate a lovely Okonomiyaki, and ended with a green tea sponge cake. The service was lovely, and the cake was wonderful. Hokage-sama, if you ever in that area, I would suggest stopping by that restaurant. The cake is worth the stop alone, and I know you would be my favourite Hokage if you brought me some back."

"Just get on with it!" Sakura yelled, clearly not pleased with Kei's restaurant review.

"You shouldn't disregard restaurant advice so lightly Pink-hime." Kei chided her. "Uchiha, Sasuke took the bait that I presented and followed me out. I led him into a building where we wouldn't be disturbed, and-"

"You know I would like to try that cake now that you mention it Kei." Makoto said drowning out Kei.

"- then I changed, disposed of the clothes, and rejoined the group." Kei finished his report.

"What? But we didn't hear how Sasuke was killed!" Naruto yelled.

"He prevented us from hearing!" Sakura pointed an accusing finger at Makoto.

"You want to hear how your friend's died? That is sick..."Kei said, sending the Genin an offended look.

"Hokage-sama, are you sure you want such sick shinobi working for you?" Makoto asked, moving further away from the Genin.

"We didn't mean that-"Sakura tried.

"We should send them to Ibiki-san for a mental evaluation." Kei suggested.

The two Genin paled at the mention of the heavily scarred and scary exam proctor. "No! No! We aren't sick and we don't need to see him."

"Does a crazy person EVER think they're crazy?" Makoto asked.

Tsunade studied the two before slowly answering "Your idea has merit Kei, and I know that Ibiki has been bored lately..."

The rest of her sentence was cut off when Jiraiya dropped in.

"Naruto, Sakura! Just the two I was looking for. I know you two are worried about Sasuke, and I got some information on where he is headed. To the Land of Rice we go!" Jiraiya stroke a pose, waiting for thanks and praise.

"What? But Sasuke is dead..." Sakura weakly responded.

"Jiraiya..." Tsunade growled as he stood up from her seat.

"Ah, Tsunade! Do you mind if I take Naruto on a mission?"

"I already took care of the Sasuke situation. I got word of his destination already and sent a team out. They have already returned with favourable results." Tsunade glared at her old teammate.

"Already? You had him killed?" Jiraiya stalked forward, invading Tsunade's personal space.

"It's done."

"Oh... well... then... To the Land of Rice we won't go!" Jiraiya struck another pose.

"If all the theatrics are finished, leave. I need to talk to Kei and Makoto." Tsunade commanded.

Once everyone left, Tsunade turned to study Kei.

"Tell me every single word exchanged between you and Uchiha, Sasuke during your meeting."

"Yes Hokage-sama."

o.O.o.

Naruto moodily walked down the street, kicking pebbles as he went. He couldn't believe that Sasuke was dead. Naruto never knew kindness or family until Iruka-nii took him in. Then slowly as he gained friends, and teammates, he considered them all part of his family. People he would fight for, and die for.

And no one of them was gone. He had hoped that they could find Sasuke and convince him to return. Treat his little desertion as a small vacation, but it wasn't to be. He blamed Kei-sensei for killing him, Baa-san for ordering it, Orochimaru for targeting Sasuke, and mainly himself for not being enough that Sasuke would never think twice about leaving.

Naruto stopped and looked up to see Shikamaru, sunbathing on a roof.

"Um... Shikamaru?"

"Naruto."

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked, as he jumped on the roof and sat beside the other boy.

"Thinking."

"Oh..."

"Why are you sad Naruto?" Shikamaru asked, opening one eye to stare at him.

"Sas-Sasuke is dead." Naruto explained.

"Did you see his body?" Shikamaru asked casually.

"No..."

"Were you told he was dead?"

"Not in so many words..." Naruto trailed off.

"So you never heard them say 'I killed Sasuke' or 'Sasuke is dead'?"

"Well it was implied like..."

"So if you didn't see it, or hear it, how do you know it happened?"

Naruto stared at the new Chuunin, and thought over everything Shikamaru said slowly. It was true that Kei, Makoto, or Baa-san ever said that the mission was to kill Sasuke. They only ever said mission complete, or mission to complete. It could mean that they had another purpose in finding Sasuke.

But if that were true, why were they looking for him. Naruto thought maybe it was to bring him back, but Kei never brought Sasuke back. Kei seemed more resigned and determined that Sasuke would never return to Konoha, which confused Naruto because Sasuke was a leaf shinobi and Iruka-nii said you should always be nice and welcoming to other leaf shinobi. He also said white hair and face masks were bad, and maybe it was true. Kei didn't try to bring Sasuke back, and didn't seem to care. Kei was starting to look like a bad shinobi in Naruto's eyes, no matter how good he was.

Naruto felt his brain working. Kei never killed Sasuke! Kei did something else, but Naruto wasn't sure what. It would just be something Naruto asked Sasuke when he found him. Deciding on a course of action, Naruto nodded to himself and stood up.

"Thanks Shikamaru." Naruto said right before he left.

Shikamaru watched Naruto leave with one eye. Once the blonde was a few rooftops over, Shikamaru closed his eye and went back to enjoying the sun.

"So troublesome."

o.O.o

Naruto was wandering around the shinobi library... lost. He had never been inside the building before he and he really didn't want to ask the scary looking shinobi at the desk for help. She was a terrifying woman. Naruto was about to randomly turn down another aisle when his luck struck again for a second time that day, and let him run into Shino.

"Hey Shino!" Naruto greeted the other Genin.

"Naruto-kun, what are you doing here?" Shino asked.

"Umm..." Naruto nervously scratched the back of his head "I was looking for scrolls about tracking technique's but I got lost."

"Clearly, this is the plants and herbs section. Tracking is five aisles down and to the right." Shino informed.

"Oh, thanks Shino." Naruto shot the other boy a grin.

"What are you attempting to track?" Shino asked before Naruto got away.

"Well I wanted to track a person."

"Sasuke. I heard he was dead."

Naruto shot that other boy a surprised look. "You heard that already?"

"Yes, Sakura has been spreading it to the other genins. She seemed quite... distraught."

"Yeah well...they say he's dead, but I don't think he is. That's why I want to get good at tracking and find him, so I can find out what's really happening." Naruto explained. "But don't tell anyone, please?"

"I could help you look at different tracking techniques if you like." Shino offered.

Naruto was happily surprised at the offer. "That would be a big help, thanks again Shino."

Together the two made their way over to learning about tracking. After all, they had a missing Uchiha to find.

o.O.o

When it came to their apartment, there were few things that Kakashi splurged on. A large bathtub was one of them. At first, he just liked the room, then it was a nice place to relax and talk with Kei, and now it was nice place to cuddle with Kei, and plot. Oh, and Makoto was there too.

It had been a week since the Sasuke mission, and when Kakashi discovered that the Hokage wasn't sending his cute little brother off on pointless mission for the night he dragged Kei off to bathe. Kei had grabbed Makoto's hand and dragged him along too. The three decided they needed a nice quiet, lazy night. Fighting, killing, and generally being a ninja everyday got tiring.

Kakashi leaned back against one side of the tub, while Kei was cuddled against his chest. Makoto was relaxing on the other side of the tub, eyes closed, and quiet.

"It's been so long since we last did this." Kakashi said softly.

"We have all been busy with missions, Genin teams, or stuck in the hospital." Makoto responded.

"Mmmm." Kei intelligently added to the conversation.

"Is my student really dead?" Kakashi asked.

"Mmmm."

"No." Makoto translated.

"That's all I need to know." Kakashi responded.

Ten minutes passed with nobody speaking. The three took comfort in each other's presence, the warm water, and the silence. Finally, Kei broke it.

"Nii-san..."

"Hmm?"

"I'm getting wrinkly." Kei stated.

Kakashi laughed and leaned forward to drop a kiss on Kei's head. "Okay PJs, then I think Kotetsu has some ice cream we can steal."

Slowly the three got out, and dressed. Their shoulders and hearts feeling lighter, now that the unnoticed stress they carried lifted after the bath.

o.O.o

Naruto had been training for a month on his tracking skills, and was pretty happy with his level of skill. It still wasn't enough to track Sasuke if he ever found the boy's trail, but it was better than most. He had tried to talk to Sakura about joining him, but the pinkette just seemed... withdrawn.

Sakura had started lacking in her training, and Naruto was concerned. He had mentioned it to Baa-san, and the Hokage had promised to talk to the girl, but Naruto could see all the work Tsunade was buried under.

Naruto had also approached Kakashi-sensei about the issue but the Jounin seemed stressed and tired. Kakashi-sensei had also promised to talk to Sakura, but later when he saw his sensei getting ready to leave for another mission, all the Jounin could say was that at this point only Sakura could decide her future.

So Naruto had thrown himself into his own training, hoping to learn enough that he could teach some to Sakura when the girl decided she wanted to be a Genin again. He still hadn't told her his theory about Sasuke, but whenever he mentioned their old teammates name she got all watery eyed and depressed. It was hard to talk to her like that so he usually fled.

Naruto reached the river where he decided to train that day, when he saw something in the water. Cautiously (and who said he didn't listen) he walked forward, kunai ready. When he reached the floating object he was surprised to see that they were three men.

Naruto quickly picked up the unconscious men and carried them to the hospital, never seeing Lee on the way there.

The following two meetings with the Hokage were...different. After Tsunade talked with the men, they had learned that their village was overtaken by a group of people calling themselves the Kurosuki family. They had pleaded with Tsunade to help them eradicate the Kurosuki family, and help save the villagers. Tsunade looked upset at another mission, but agreed.

Next, she had called Naruto, and Guy's team to her office and gave them the mission. Naruto was a little upset that he was being distracted from his training by helping the three men he found. But the most annoying part was that he had to work with Neji.

The only part he was looking forward t was talking to this Raiga guy. Lee had told him the Raiga was part of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, and told him that he might help Naruto with his search for Sasuke. Naruto was happy that not only did Lee believe and support him on the Sasuke issue, but the other boy was willing to help. Having friends was nice.

Giving a long sigh, Naruto packed his things and went to meet for his mission.

o.O.o

Kei, Makoto, and Sai were on their way back from a mission helping a Lord from another country kill off a string of assassins, when Kei smelled an incoming Leaf nin. Signalling his teammates, they stopped.

They waited until the other leaf nin was closer, before Kei sent out a chakra signal. After few moments, Guy came into view, and Kei smiled at him with a little wave.

"Off on a mission?" Kei asked.

"Kei-chan! Makoto-kun! Sai-kun! Yes, some people especially requested me for a mission, so I'm off to show them the passionate strength and power of the hidden Leaf Village!"

"I'm sure you will do a very admirable job Guy-nii." Kei smiled at the man and tilted his head to the side in acknowledgment.

"Kei-chan! You are just at adorable as your brother is cool!" guy yelled as he scooped Kei up into a hug.

"Kei-chan, I need you to do me a favour. Lee, Neji, Tenten, and Naruto were sent on a mission to the Land of Rivers. I knew that is a man there named Raiga, he used to be part of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Could you convince the Hokage to let you go check up on them when you get back? I need to know my wonderful and beautiful children are okay." Guy begged.

"No worries Guy-nii, I will make sure they are okay." Kei promised.

"Thank you Kei-chan, I can always count on you cute and adorable ways to save the day."

After that Kei and his team said goodbye and continued on home. Once they arrived and reported in, Kei asked Tsunade if he could go check on Neji's team. The Hokage merely stared at him, before she called for Kakashi.

When Kakashi arrived Tsunade started talking again.

"We are swamped with missions, and as it stands all four of you just returned today from missions. I have one A-rank mission to hand out today, and I was going to send Kei, Makoto and Sai out again, giving Kakashi a rest, but I think I have a solution."

All four males leaned forward waiting for the Hokage's words.

"Makoto and Sai will take the mission, while Kei and Kakashi will follow Neji's team. The news of Raiga is disturbing, and lately Naruto has been a wild card. Kei, Kakashi, your mission will be to observe the team. Watch how the handle all situations, and only step in when it's absolutely necessary. This is not just a test of Neji's leadership, but also how the others perform without a Jounin around." Tsunade explained.

"Yes Hokage-sama." Kei and Kakashi spoke together.

"Makoto and Sai, there's a village reporting that women are being attacked at night. Go find the culprits, kill them, get the money, and get your asses back here."

"Yes Hokage-sama." Makoto and Sai responded as one.

"Now go, all of you!" Tsunade yelled.

o.O.o

Kei was enjoying the mission. He got to spend lots of quality time with his brother, and not be interrupted. They were right on the trail of Neji's team, being able to move faster than them really helped.

"Nii-san, I really like this. We haven't had a lot of time together lately, and I missed you a lot." Kei told Kakashi as they followed at a safe distance.

"Kei, I missed you too. Every second we're apart the pain in my heart grows." Kakashi sadly whispered before he pulled Kei into his arms and squeezed.

"Nii-san..."Kei whined at the tight hold.

Kakashi loosed his grip a little and pulled, leaving room for him to lean forward and rub his nose with Kei's. "When you go to this Hogwarts I'm going to be so lonely without you around for months."

Kei happily nuzzled back. "I will be around often. But it is a necessary mission if we want to better protect the village."

"I know... but come, Kei, let's go. We are on a mission after all." Kakashi put Kei back on the ground and started following Neji's group once more.

They arrived at the Curry Shop, and stayed to the back. When the old woman who ran the shop came outside, she was surprised to see them.

They quickly explained they were there to observe and evaluate the shinobi inside and don't mind them. The woman agreed and even offered to bring them curry.

When she brought out the black and bubbling curry, neither Kei or Kakashi were eager to eat it. Hiding their slight revulsion, Kakashi politely explained to the woman that they couldn't eat until she left since no one could see their faces. The woman patted Kakashi on the shoulder in an understanding way and went back inside to serve the other shinobi.

Once she was gone, Kei and Kakashi ditched the food. If Lee said it was delicious, then they didn't trust it. Lee was too much like Guy, and Guy had the weirdest sense of taste they had ever known. Instead they pulled out some rice balls and juice, and enjoyed watching the clouds and sky together.

Later, they relocated to a room above the shop and were eavesdropping on the strategy meeting going on below them. They both had to admit that Neji was a genius. He was a good leader as far as they could tell. They both tensed when Neji stood up and announced he wanted to check on something upstairs.

They felt like idiots for forgetting the Byakugan.

Neji calmly walked up the stairs, and the brothers waited. Kei was using Kakashi's stomach as a pillow, and they both just waited for inevitable. When Neji opened the door, they both gave a small 'Yo' and wave, not even bothering to hide.

"Kakashi-sama, Kei-san, why are you two here?"Neji asked.

"This shop has delicious curry." Kei answered.

"The view is nice around here." Kakashi added.

"Fresh air."

"Quiet for meditation."

"Heard that-"

"Okay stop." Neji cut off Kei. "You are here to spy on us for Guy-sensei and the Hokage, aren't you?"

"He's good." Kakashi whispered to Kei. "No worried Neji-kun, we are just here to observe, we won't interfere in any way unless sits life threatening, and none of you teammates can help." Kakashi gave the Hyuuga a reassuring eye smile, and started playing with Kei's hair. It was growing back nicely.

The Hyuuga merely nodded and closed the door, before returning to his team. Kei and Kakashi continued to listen in and then followed them later as they chased one of the mine men.

o.O.o

Kei and Kakashi watched the battle from another cliff. The rain was heavy, the lightning close, and most of the Genin were down. The only one left was a drunken Lee. But Kei wasn't watching the green spandex Genin, he was watching Raiga and his lightning fangs. Kei wanted them.

Kakashi had seen the want in Kei's eye and had told Kei, that Kei could step in and fight Raiga for them if he wanted. Kei was tempted but he promised not to step in until someone was about to die. So he stayed back, sitting beside Kakashi on a wet cliff watching Lee fight.

Kei jumped when Lee was about to be killed. Moving quickly he intercepted Raiga's blow and threw Lee away from the cliff's edge and to safety. Settling into an attack ready position, Kei smiled at Raiga. "I'm going to take those lightning fangs form you."

"And I will give you a beautiful funeral." Raiga responded.

Kei crouched lower before he sprang, leaping forward and raining a series of punches and kicks on Raiga. Raiga did an admirable job blocking them, but Kei picked up speed. At one point as he twisted to aim another kick to Raiga's hand, Kei pulled his knives and pushes chakra into them.

"Oh you are a lightning user too? Your funeral has just gotten lovelier." Raiga said with his insane giggle.

Kei didn't bother responding, instead he surged forward to attack again. Kei was gradually pushing Raiga closer and closer to the cliff's edge. Raiga attempted to turn them around, but Kei was stubborn and kept pushing him back and back. Finally, as Raiga stood on the very edge, Kei reached forward and grabbed the lightning fangs.

Raiga screamed and called channelled lightning through the fangs, but Kei kept hold and jumped up, kicking Raiga straight in the chest. On the way down Kei plucked the fangs from his heads, landed on his feet on the edge of the cliff, watching as Raiga fell further, and further.

When he could no longer see Raiga, turned to see Neji's team all standing in a lien watching him. Walking over to them, Kei placed a hand on Neji's shoulder and said, "You're a good leader; just... don't pass out again."

With his parting words, Kei shunshin'd away, happy with his new weapons.

* * *

This will be the last part of my Sake omake Trilogy

**OMAKE**

Shizune gigged as she entered another shop, and went to the owner. Looking him straight in the eye, she laid down a fair amount of money.

"Do you agree?" Shizune asked.

The owner carefully took the money and counted it, before nodding his head. "I will not sell Tsunade any Sake." Quickly he pocketed the money, and left. Shizune smiled at the man, and turned to leave.

As she left she couldn't help but think "One more down, three more places to go."

Shizune whistled to herself as she went to the next place. At this rate, Tsunade wouldn't get a drop of Sake, and Shizune could use the drink to bribe her to do paperwork. Yes, it was all a wonderful plan...

* * *

Eccentric Battle and the winner is... Guy! Or Gai...Yay!

This is how it went down. Dumbles- 12 votes, Tie- 24 votes, and Guy- 38 votes!

I think this was the most even battle to date though... now a lovely reviewer Azreal Riddle suggested the next battle.

Strategy Match- Shikamaru vs. Ron.


	32. Chapter 32

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way.

Warnings: Language, OC'ness, Sex Education, Crime fighting, fluff, Hogwarts finally, and big jumps! Watch your step.

Beta: FEARMEfrancis

A/N: A lot of people have been anxious for Hogwarts to come into the picture, so I squeezed everything I had planned before Hogwarts into this chapter. Also, if you have not noticed this will be a long long story. One more thing, People have been asking about Harry's Life line. He has another 3 years or so, depending if Rikoto can prolong his life or not. Time's a ticking! Remember years... not months.

"_I'm all fancy looking_"- English

**Kudos to Konoha**

Albus Dumbledore sat in his office, sorting through the acceptance letters. He was looking for one in particular, wondering if he would need to send a guide to young Harry. There was still two weeks until school started, but he had not heard a peep from the young Potter.

He had floo-called Arabella and the woman had assured him that the Dursleys were not on vacation, but at home, and young Harry was still around.

Just as he was starting on the last pile of letters, he saw out of the corner of his eye the Hogwarts Register glow. Feeling a horrible sense of dread, Dumbledore hastened over to the book and flipped it open. Turning pages, he finally landed on the page that held all the names of the incoming first years. One name stood out.

Harry Potter.

Dumbledore watched in horror as Harry's name slowly melted off the page and disappeared. Looking up he saw an owl flying towards his window. Dumbledore stood in place as the owl entered through the window, and landed softly on the Registers pedestal.

Dumbledore opened the letter and read the words that said that Harry Potter would not be attending Hogwarts. Dumbledore dropped the letter to the floor, and rushed to his fireplace, throwing in a hand full of floo powder he yelled through the flames "Bella I'm coming through."

Not waiting for a response, Dumbledore stepped through the green flames and into Arabella's living room. The woman was sitting on her couch in a stunned silence, but Dumbledore ignored her and walked towards the door.

He made his way to Number 4 Privet Drive, and knocked on the door. Petunia Dursley answered the door with a fake smile and greeting, only to slam it shut once again as she saw who stood on the doorstep.

"He's not here!" she yelled through the door. "Some weird people came along years ago and took him away. We only had him for a few months! Leave us alone!"

Dumbledore felt his old heart falter at those words. "Then who is the black haired boy that has been living here?" He asked, hoping that she was lying and that Harry really was around.

"Black hair? Black hair! That is Pier's, Dudleys best friend a nice _normal_ boy, unlike that freak of a sister of mine and her spawn. Now leave or I will call the police!" Petunia yelled.

Dumbledore obeyed and left the house. He couldn't believe that someone had taken harry Potter and they were only just finding out. Dumbledore slowly walked back to Arabella's house, trying to figure out who had stolen Harry Potter.

o.O.o

Kei, Sai, and Makoto gathered numerous stares as the trio stretched inside the gates of Konoha. The guards and passerby's looked on from the side, watching as they worked a new area and counted to ten. They had started with their toes and worked all the way up, now rotating their necks.

Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto stood by watching as well. Kakashi was thinking about how fast Kei grew up that he had a trusty team, and a pre-mission routine. He thought it was all adorable. Sakura had a bemused expression, while Naruto was anxious to leave, for once being the one being responsible.

"Can we leave yet?" Naruto asked.

"One moment, Kei and his team need to leave first." Kakashi responded.

"Why?" Sakura asked.

"Because they are in the log first, so they must leave first, and we must follow rules." Kakashi smiled at his team.

Neither of the Genin was willing to point out that Kakashi rarely followed rules.

Once the trio finished their stretches, then they jumped in the air and landed exactly on the village line. Kei was in the middle, and Sai and Makoto were on either side and each was striking a different pose as if searching for something in the distance. They held their position, not moving a bit.

"What are they doing?" Naruto whispered to Kakashi, afraid to break the atmosphere.

"We're searching for danger before leaving!" Kei answered instead.

"You think there are enemies hiding in the trees right outside the gate?" Naruto asked.

"Always be prepared." Makoto replied.

"How long will they stay like that?" Sakura piped up, after two minutes of nothing.

"Left side clear!" Sai yelled, causing Sakura, Naruto, and some passerby's to jump.

"Middle clear!" Kei followed.

"Right side clear!" Makoto added.

"Away!" All three cheered before running out into the path and disappearing into the trees.

"Um... do they always do that?" Naruto asked.

"No last time they used water balloons and threw them into the trees before taking off." Kotetsu answered from his post.

"And the time before Kei and Makoto used bird calls while Sai threw breadcrumbs." Izumo tacked on.

"Are they sane?" Sakura asked.

"Well according to Rikoto all three are in perfectly fine mentally and physically. And he wouldn't lie." Kakashi told his team. "Now off we go, that peeping tom won't turn himself in." Kakashi ushered his team out of the village.

o.O.o

Kei and co. had a two-part mission. They got news that Orochimaru had a base set up in the tip of Tea Country, and that Orochimaru's newest apprentice would be stationed there. Kei couldn't help but giggle knowing that it was Sasuke's doing, dropping hints on his travels to garner the attention.

They were to sneak in and hand off a scroll to Sasuke. The scroll would hold five ravens that Sasuke could use to send important messages to the village; either warnings, updates, or requesting a meeting. The first part of the mission dealt with getting the ravens from Itachi.

Kei was going to have Itachi load the scroll, and use his blood so that only Uchiha blood could open the scroll, just like his ninken scroll. He was also to inform Itachi of Sasuke's situation, and ask the Uchiha genius if he had any ideas. Kei was just happy both parts were taking place in Tea.

When they arrived, Makoto and Sai took off to keep the perimeter and Kei waited for Itachi like he usually did. He held the empty scroll in one hand, and kept the other on one of his tessen just in case. While he trusted his teammates, they were not infallible.

Itachi entered soon enough, and Kei jumped on his friend like always. Itachi had caught him around the waist, but held Kei back, searching his face and giving him a weird look.

"What's wrong Itachi?" Kei asked.

"Kei-chan, do you remember what you gave me just before you left last time?"

"It was a kiss Itachi, but we have something more important to talk about." Kei jumped off of Itachi and held up the scroll. "I need you to put five of your crows into this scroll, and make it accessible to only Uchiha blood."

"Does this have anything to do with my brother leaving the village?" Itachi asked while he started the process.

"Yes..."

"I want to know everything." Itachi demanded, the kiss long forgotten.

Kei sighed, but sat down to tell his friend what happened, "Well your brother is entirely too noble for his own good..."

o.O.o

Kei leaned against a tree, letting Makoto rub a pain relieving paste on his ribs. Itachi had been a bit rougher than normal during their annual fight. Kei understood that he was frustrated that his brother was in the hands of a sick bastard, and felt no anger towards Itachi for using him as target practice.

They were a mile away from Orochimaru's base, and Sasuke. While Makoto patched him up a little, Sai was going over the plan for a third time.

"-after that you have two minutes to speak to Sasuke, and we get out. No delays, just explain the scroll and go."

"Understood." Kei answered, putting his shirt back on.

"Will your wounds be okay? You shouldn't have fought Itachi just before this." Makoto worried and scolded at the same time.

"I'm good to go, let's just get this done quickly and get home." Kei smiled and then took off, his teammates following him.

Sai had spent hours doing surveillance while Kei and Makoto gathered supplies, set up their campsite, and generally prepped for the mission. With Sai's ink mice they had a general map of the base, and the possible location of Sasuke.

Sneaking in had been fairly easy. Kei was a little disappointed that there wasn't a bigger struggle. You would think that a big bad evil guy like Orochimaru would have a large security system for his front door, even if normal or sane shinobi wouldn't dare to sneak in, it was still a good thing to have.

As they were walking down the hallway, they came to a fork, leading in three different directions.

"I feel like normal people would split up here..." Sai whispered.

"Splitting up never works, it just makes things even worse." Makoto whispered back.

Kei remained silent as he led the way down the left path.

They had just dodged their fifth guard, when Kei picked up Sasuke's scent. Slowly he signalled his teammates, and silently they followed the scent. They moved slowly, and kept a constant watch for guards, and when they finally arrived at a door that Sasuke's scent was coming from, they split up for the first time.

Sai went back down the hallway to keep watch, while Makoto stationed himself outside the door. Kei studied the scents around the door, and was happy to note that Sasuke appeared to be alone. Knocking softly, Kei waited as he smelled Sasuke approaching the door.

As Sasuke started opening the door, Kei quickly slipped inside and scanned the room, confirming that Sasuke was alone.

"Ke-" Kei clamped a hand over Sasuke's mouth, stopping him from speaking.

Slowly Kei took out a piece of paper and pen and wrote a message to Sasuke

_We can't be sure that your room isn't bugged with listening devices. I only have a couple of minutes._

Sasuke took the paper from Kei and wrote back.

**I understand. How did you get in?**

_An old shinobi secret ^_^; but I have something that will help you get into contact._

Sasuke gave Kei a smile at the message, and pulled Kei forward for a hug.

"I missed you." Sasuke whispered into Kei's ear, barely being heard.

Kei took the paper back.

_I have a scroll here that contains five ravens. If needed send one of those with a message and it will get to me. It is sealed so only Uchiha blood can open it, paired with your father's favourite saying. You need both to open it, so I hope you remember what your father liked to say most._

Kei handed Sasuke the paper and scroll that Itachi had made.

Sasuke hid the scroll on his person, and read the note. Sasuke squeezed Kei tighter, and buried his face in Kei's hair. Kei hugged his friend back and stood there soaking up the warmth of his friend.

A soft knock interrupted the hug, and Kei stepped back. Kei took the paper and placed it on the ground, once small fireball later and it was ashes. Kei used a small wind jutsu to scatter the ashes, mixing them in with the dust, leaving no evidence.

Giving Sasuke a resigned look, he stood on his toes to whisper to the older boy, "Stay safe."

Kei quickly left the room after that, and gave Makoto a thumbs up to tell him that the mission was done. Now they just had to get out.

o.O.o

Kei, Sai and Makoto entered Tsunade's office and immediately handed over the report from Itachi. The Hokage barely registered them as she hid the scroll down her top and handed them another three scrolls.

"Have Rikoto check you out, and then I want those three missions done by the end of the week. I'm getting the most out of you before you leave in a few months."

"Yes Hokage-sama." The three chorused.

"Also, one more thing."

"Here." Tsunade threw a mask at Sai, who caught it. "Congratulations Ookami, now put that mask on and go."

"Yes Hokage-sama." The three left quickly.

o.O.o

When March rolled around, the trio dragged their bodies into the bedroom and collapsed. They fell asleep in their blood stained clothes and masks, not even caring, since sleep was much more important. Tsunade had given them so many missions with short deadlines that they almost forgot what sleeping in a bed was like.

Tomorrow would be Kei and Makoto's last day in Konoha before they left with Bones to prepare for the wizarding world. Sai was going to join Kakashi's team in the meantime, and the pale boy was happy to finally take off his ANBU mask.

Come morning the trio sluggishly showered and changed. They piled their clothes together and sent them off to be washed. Once that was done, Kakashi had appeared and stole Kei off to spend the day with him.

They spent time at the Hot Springs where Kakashi chased everyone else out. Then they got food and spent time napping together in the shade.

Makoto had gone off on his own during this time, collecting more medication from Rikoto, and gathering a special secret item that he knew would come in handy later.

When Bones finally arrived, everyone was ready to go, except Kakashi wasn't letting go of Kei. After 20 minutes of begging from Makoto, Kakashi finally let Kei go, but had threatened Makoto if anything were to happen to him.

"Now just before you go there are still some things to settle." Tsunade spoke up.

"Of course, I remember." Bones responded. Bones reached into the purse she was carrying and pulled out three identical necklaces. The necklaces were silver with a green Konoha leaf hanging from the end.

"The necklaces act as communication device and portkey. A portkey is a charmed object that will transport the user from destination A to pre-planned destination B. If you want to talk to Kei or Makoto, just place one finger on the leaf and say their name. You will record a message and the boys will feel the necklace grow warmer.

"To retrieve the message you just place a finger on them and say 'Hear Message'. It works both ways, and to use the portkey you will say 'Konoha Gates' to come back here or 'Outside Voyages' to go the other way."

Kei and Makoto each took their necklace and put them on. Tsunade held hers and studied it for a moment before tucking it down her shirt as she did most important things.

Finally, Bones, Kei and Makoto left the village, and walked down the road. Once they were out of sight of the gates, Bones took out a scarf and held it out to the duo.

"Just take hold of one part of the scarf and we'll be on our way." She instructed.

Without hesitation, Kei and Makoto grabbed the scarf and felt a pull behind their navel. An instant later, they were landing heavily on their feet in a new place.

"That was a portkey." Bones explained to the slightly dazed shinobi.

"Where are we?" Makoto asked after coming back to his senses and looking around.

"Japan. I figure that not only do you need to learn English, but you also need to learn how to live like civilians. I have set up an apartment here for you, and Kei is enrolled in school, which he will start in a month, and Makoto you could get a job. I will come to check on you every now and then."

Kei and Makoto listened to everything the woman said and saw the logic in her words. It would be beneficial if they knew how civilians in this part of the world acted. They could already see many differences from where they stood.

"Right, this is the rooftop of your apartment building, so down we go!" Bones ordered.

Bones led them down two flights of stairs, and into a decent sized apartment. It was a one bedroom apartment with a living room, kitchen and bathroom. It also had a balcony that connected to the bedroom and kitchen.

There was a low table stacked with books and papers that screamed danger to Kei and Makoto as soon as they entered, they had ignored it at first, as they set up various protection seals, but once Bones left with a "No mask at school Hatake", they knew they would have to approach it like a wild animal.

On top of the book stack was a book labelled 'English Made Easy', and the next was titled 'Grammar: Friend or Foe?', after that there was a series of workbooks that Kei would need to study and complete to reach the same level of education as children his own age.

Both shinobi groaned as they looked at the large stack that was waiting for them.

"At least you can read fast Kei, I'm going to be spending everyday trying to get through half of this." Makoto complained.

"How about I read first, and set aside the ones I think will be most important to you. That should cut down your reading, and give us more time to explore." Kei offered, pushing the English books aside, and focussing on the others.

"Sounds like a plan."

o.O.o

Kei found living in Tokyo fun. They studied how the civilians acted everyday by exploring the city, when they weren't buried in all the books Bones had left. Kei had even found a little library that he used to help with his studies and complete the workbooks.

At one point they had even came across a school tennis team practicing, and had watched, until a tall scary player with square glasses approached them with a notebook. Something told them to stay away from him, so they left and kept exploring.

At one point Bones had stopped by to check in and had decided to test Kei. When she got the Health questions, she had been shocked when Kei didn't seem to know about the general mechanics of sex. She had decided to rectify the situation, even going as far as to ignore Makoto's advice. After all, she had a niece the same age as Kei and she didn't dare send her to Hogwarts ignorant of anything.

Bones left and returned quickly with some teaching aids. Makoto had stopped her, and handed her a video that Kakashi had given him once, in case he ever met someone willing to teach Kei about sex. Bones respect for the older Hatake went up, when she realized he had at least been prepared for this type of situation. She took Kei in the living room while Makoto studied in the bedroom, and put on the muggle movie that would help explain things better.

10 minutes later, Kei was rushing into the bedroom crying for Makoto. Makoto was tackled by his partner who clung to him tightly.

"What's wrong Kei?"

"It was terrible Koto! There was a man and he kept shoving his smallest Hatake into the woman and she was screaming and saying 'Don't' and 'Stop' but he wouldn't and there was so much screaming, and weapons all around. It was even worse than Nii-san described it!" Kei quickly explained, burying his face into his partners' neck afterwards.

Makoto hung his head in shame. He should have known that Kakashi would give him a porno that would scare Kei even more. Carrying Kei into the living room, he watched as a furious Amelia Bones took the video out and smashed it to bits. Just knowing any respect she had for Kakashi had just burned up.

o.O.o

In Konoha, Kakashi felt a great wave of satisfaction pass through him. Smiling to himself, he knew that he must have done something beneficial to Kei and it had just kicked in. Today would be a great day for Hatake, Kakashi.

o.O.o

After that, Kei refused to listen to attempts to teach him about sex. He even went as far as running out of the apartment and hiding. If Makoto wasn't heavily trained in finding Kei he would have never found the boy. Bones had just given up and proclaimed that Kei would forever be a virgin and she pitied any girl that tried to gain his affections. Makoto was positive that had been Kakashi's plan all along.

Once Kei started school, he joined the Kendo club. He didn't make a lot of friends since the girls were too busy trying to get dust out of their eyes, and they boys were jealous over something. Kei didn't mind since he was still trying to adjust to a school setting.

Makoto had taken a job at a local sports club, where he earned money but at the same time watched the trainers condition their employers. It was all very good research for him.

On nights that they got bored from the tame lifestyle they would sneak around the city and catch thieves or any bad guys they came across, not to help, but because it reminded them of home, and made them feel better about being away. They wouldn't tell Tsunade though; the Hokage would probably be upset over all the free labour.

o.O.o

The time finally came when Kei and Makoto would finally visit Hogwarts. It was the start of June, and Kei had just gotten home from school. Bones was coming to collect them, and would bring them to Hogwarts for the first time.

She had already gotten the board's approval for Kei to attend as an exchange student. They even agreed to add the physical part of the Defence class. Today she would introduce Makoto to the Headmaster, while Kei toured around the school getting a feel for the ancient building.

They had spent the afternoon getting their disguises in order. Makoto had worn a dark blue and white tracksuit, and white running shoes. He had on a grey undershirt and then added a white hat to complete his look of a trainer. Nodding to himself, he hid a few kunai on his person, and turned to see how Kei did.

Kei had opted to wear his school uniform. He was wearing grey trousers, a white short-sleeved shirt, and his navy vest. His mask was off, and he had been using a ribbon that matched Makoto's hair to keep his bangs in place over his injured eye. Other than that, Kei had taken the idea that someone wearing glasses wouldn't be recognized. He now wore rectangular black framed glasses but all anyone ever saw was the one side.

When Bones arrived, she got straight to the point and held out a portkey. They pair grabbed the dented can and were whisked away. They landed in front of a large gate, and when they looked past it they saw a beautiful castle nestled in the hills and morning fog.

"Welcome to Hogwarts." Bones said.

Kei was admiring the building while Makoto let out a resigned sigh. "Kei will so get lost in there."

Bones smiled at the comment, while Kei glared at his partner.

"Off we go, Susan is suppose to meet us at the doors." Kei and Makoto followed the woman, taking in their surroundings with an unimpressed air, but really interested in the different landscape.

When they entered the castle, their ears were under attack by a high pitched squeal of English, "_Auntie_!"

Finding the source, they saw a girl with a slightly chubby face and red hair in a plait, rushing towards them.

"_Susan! A young lady has decorum_." Bones scolded her niece. Kei and Makoto raised a questioning eyebrow at the older woman. They didn't understand what was being said.

Seeing their faces, Amelia cast a spell on Susan. Susan merely nodded to her aunt and spoke.

"I'm sorry Aunt." Susan's demeanour changed as did her language. "Welcome to Hogwarts Aunt Amelia, It's a pleasure to see you again."

"I apologize for the spell dear, but these two haven't grasped English enough to understand, and it's easier to cast once than twice."

"No need to apologize, anything I can do to help."

Bones smiled at her niece, and then pulled the young girl in for a hug. "Now no more formalities, this castle is stuffy enough, no need to add to it."

Susan smiled up at her aunt, "I'm so glad you've come!" Turning her attention to Kei, she released her aunt and went to stand in front of him. "Is this the boy you want me to meet? Hello I'm Susan Bones and you must be Kei Hatake." Susan held out her hand.

"Nice to meet you." Kei took her hand and gave it a small shake.

"I have been tasked to show you around." Susan stated as she used both hands to grab Kei's hand and started dragging him away. Kei shrugged his shoulders and went along with the girl.

"Have him back here in an hour!" Bones yelled as they whipped around a corner.

Susan turned towards Kei and pouted, "An hour isn't nearly long enough to show you the whole castle."

"Then how about the single most interesting part," Kei offered.

Susan took a moment to think before she brightened up. "There's the third floor corridor. The Headmaster forbade anyone from going there, unless they wanted to 'die a very painful death'."

"Do you know what's there?" Kei asked, interested in this forbidden place. Forbidden places always held the most interesting of objects.

"No one knows, but I heard that Ron Weasley, Dean Thomas, and Seamus Finnegan from Gryffindor went there as a dare from Ron's older brothers. They ran out screaming about monsters trying to eat them." Susan explained as she led Kei up stairs that moved. Moved!

They reached the final staircase and Susan stopped him. "That's the corridor. It looks harmless but the boys were jumpy for days, after they went there. Ron even said that they only student who would ever be brave enough to go there and beat the monster would have been Harry Potter if he had come to school." Susan whispered to him.

"Harry Potter?" Did they really think that he would grow up to be some invincible man, just because he had lived as a baby? Kei unconsciously raised his hand to his chest where he was hit with a certain jutsu. He was hardly invincible.

"Don't you know about Harry Potter? He is absolutely wonderful. He defeated the Dark Lord as an infant, and they say that he's currently travelling the world fighting demons and monsters everywhere. He's rumoured to be the most handsome boy in the world."

"Oh..." Kei wasn't sure how to respond to that.

Susan gave a long sigh. "If only he had come to Hogwarts, he would have been in my year."

"So, anything else about the corridor?" Kei asked. He was a little unnerved about the girl's actions and words. He didn't quite like hearing about himself in such a way.

"Oh? Well besides the monsters, some of the older students claim that the Headmaster is hiding something very valuable or important there. The corridor only became forbidden this year after all."

Kei's interest was piqued. He would find out what was in that corridor and steal it. Who knows if it could help Konoha or not?

* * *

So this chapters' omake was inspired by a conversation with Azreal Riddle. Oh the thinks you can think.~ Dr. Seuss.

**OMAKE**

_Just after Gai and Lee met_

"Gai-sensei! Gai-sensei! Why do you always laugh after the sunset jutsu?" Lee asked with an earnest expression.

"Well Lee, my youthful apprentice, if you watch everyone's faces you will laugh too! HaHaHa!" Gai laughed, after he winked at his student, thinking of all the horrified or stunned expressions his signature jutsu brought.

"You are so smart Gai-sensei!" Lee spoke with stars in his eyes. "Can I be just like you?"

"Of course Lee! We just need to get you a jumpsuit, legwarmers, and a new hairstyle."

"I'm so lucky." Lee murmured in complete awe.

"Now on the count of three...one... two... three!"

*Twin Gai poses!*

All of Konoha felt the earth shudder, but no one could ever figure out why...

* * *

So I was on a great update roll before but then one thing led to another, and I sadly broke out of it. I apologize. In retaliation to that, Ireadtomuch has made me a Gold Star Chart for updates. She's quite forceful.

Big News! I got fanart! TenPointsFromGryffindor has made a lovely drawing of Kei and Kakashi. I will post a link to it! On profile...

Now the Results

*Drumroll*

Well Shikamaru won in an overwhelming poll. I'm actually a tad embarrassed to post the results...

Shika- 74 votes, Ron- 1 vote, Tie- 4 votes

I got a long list of possible questions from reviewers and I thank you all. I wrote them all down and put them in a hat and picked one. Then another because there's so many I want to use them all.

This week in a fight for the best, who will win?

Battle 1: Battle of the fangirls! Sakura vs. Ginny

Battle 2: Battle of the Creepy Bad Guy! Orochimaru vs. Voldemort


	33. Chapter 33

**E ****Disclaimer**: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

**Warnings**: _Language, OC'ness, Het, Slash, underage, fluff, smut, and abuse to the author, Loss of Kei's cuteness._

_Beta: FEARMEfrancis _

_B/N (Beta's Note): Monkey asked me to use a certain name for Kei in the edit. It's very... out there. See if you can find which one it is! I only used it once, so that will help narrow it down._

**_UPDATE: There's more fanart! Go to my profile and ch-ch-check it out! One is adorable and one is super mega awesome_**

_A/N: I have noticed many things over the time I have read fanfiction, and creeped reviews. One being that readers vary when it comes to canon. Some get quite upset when you don't follow it, and others call it boring when you do. Then there's the group that doesn't care. Well, I firmly believe that making your own twist to the philosophers stone and Triwizard Tournament is like a rite of passage. So, dear readers, I warn you now (and just this once)... I will be putting a very special Hatake twist on canon events. OH! And apparently I can't write angst or romance so...sorry._

_A/N.2: Thank you for all the amazing reviews last chapter, and as a gift for the 110+ reviews I made this an extra long chapter. Enjoy _

_A/N.3: Promise this is the last one... I have received several unhappy reviews about the last chapter, mainly due to Kakashi using a video of a woman being raped. I apologize if that section as unclear but it wasn't a video of a woman being raped. It was a porno and the woman was screaming "Don't" and "Stop" as in "Don't *creak* Stop! *Creak* Don't Stop! Don't Stop! *creak creak creak* Oh God, please don't stop! Harder, harder...oh god...almost...almost...OH! *heavy breathing*" -Hope that clears it up!_

_**End of Summer**_

Kei mentally patted himself on the back for escaping away to the third floor corridor. There was something hidden here, and he was determined to find out what. He would have preferred having Makoto by his side, but sometimes a shinobi needed to undertake a solo mission. Kei walked down the hall, and felt his nose twitch at a very familiar scent. There was a dog nearby.

When he reached a locked door, he withdrew two senbon that he had hidden on himself, and quickly picked the out dated lock. When he heard the familiar click, he smiled to himself and ducked inside, only to see a beautiful sight. A three headed dog.

The dog growled and snapped it's teeth at Kei, but Kei was too busy being mesmerized by the sheer size of the beast. It was just slightly bigger than Taka, which was no easy feat. When he came back to himself, he noticed the hostile beast approaching, so he did what he had done with all his summons to assert dominance over them. Kei jumped into the air and landed on the first head. He bit it's ear, and pulled a little and when the head whimpered, Kei jumped to the next. When all heads had been properly bitten, Kei returned to the ground, and said 'Sit!'

The large dog whimpered but obediently sat down, before lowering its three heads onto the front paws, and gave Kei a solemn look. Kei couldn't stop himself, he instantly went over to the dog and gave all three heads a good scratch behind the ear as he cooed at the dog, and told him it was a good boy. The dog seemed to perk up as three tongues flopped out of three smiling mouths and its tail started wagging.

"That's right, no need to look so sad, you are a great guard dog." Kei soothed the giant beast.

The three heads started bobbing up and down, as if agreeing with Kei, and Kei smiled before giving them all another round of ear scratching. Once that was done, he stepped away and commanded the dog to 'Stay'. All three heads whined slightly at the loss of affection, but stayed where they were. Kei nodded his approval before turning towards the door in the floor.

Kei opened the door and peered down into darkness. Giving his eye a few second to adjust, Kei peered down to see something that looked like vines wiggling around each other in the darkness. Never more glad for his great night vision, Kei found the end of the ominous mass. Slipping down the hole and holding onto the edge, Kei swung his body back and forth to gain momentum a few times before releasing and flying towards a safe area away from the vines. Kei landed heavily on the ground, but rolled to absorb some of the impact, and was instantly back on his feet.

Looking around, Kei saw the outline of another doorway or the start of hallway, and made his way over there, on constant guard for any creeping vines or hidden dangers. Safely at the access to a passageway, Harry steadily made his way down the sloping path, ears and eye alert for anything that could pop out. At the end, Kei walked into another chamber, but this one had a very high ceiling, and little birds flying around. He took a single step forward and exposed himself to the birds, but they didn't seem to notice him. Taking another step, Kei ducked as one of the Birds passed to close, and he instantly noticed what they were. They were keys!

Kei cautiously walked towards the only door in the room, and inspected the lock. He took out his senbon and tried opening it again, but it refused to work. Looking back at the keys, Kei concluded he needed to catch the correct one. He searched the mass and spotted one that didn't belong with the smaller and slimmer keys flittering about. Kei ran several methods through his head on how to catch the key, when he spotted few old looking brooms leaning against a wall.

'They wouldn't...' Kei thought. He had heard many rumours about what witches and wizards did, but the whole flying broom thing he refused to believe. But thinking about everything he saw in Hogwarts today, he really should have accepted the possibility. He saw black cats, pointed hats, and a girl writing with a quill while her friend held an ink bottle. Figuring it couldn't hurt to at least test the theory, Kei picked up one of the brooms, and perched himself on it.

As if they suddenly noticed his appearance, the Keys changed from their carefree flight patterns and rushed towards Kei. He hopped on the broom, and watched the keys stopped their attack and went back to their previous behaviour as if nothing happened. Looking from the broom to the keys, Kei grinned to himself, Challenge Accepted!

Kei jumped on the broom, and kicked off, momentarily thrown off by the acceleration. He quickly got used to the broom, and experimented with switching his grip and nudging the broom to go where he wanted. Kei dived and served out of the keys line of fire, and laughed as he was chased. He tilted the broom up and climbed higher and higher. When he was almost to the ceiling, Kei tilted back , and let go of the broom, letting himself free fall past the keys. Using one foot, Hatake hooked it on the handle of the broom, and carried it down with him. As the air rushed past, he reached out and plucked a single key out of the air, that he had kept track of the entire time, even when he was playing with the keys.

Once the key was secure, Kei reached up, and grabbed the broom. He settled himself over it, and jerked it back into action, slowing his decline, and levelling out. When he was steady, he guided the broom down, and landed gently, dropping the broom, and stopping the pursuing keys.

Kei carefully inserted the key into the lock, and opened the door. He released the key, after making sure he hadn't hurt it's wing, and stepped through the door, closing it softly behind him. Looking around the new room, the jounin concluded that he had no clue what he was looking at. There were multiple large stone statues on a checked board, and what looked like a graveyard of other broken boulders. Deciding not to bother, Kei pushed chakra to his feet, and walked up the wall, along the ceiling, and down on the other side and opened the door.

Instantly his nose was attacked by a foul stench. In he stumbled as his eye watered, and his survival instincts told him to run away quickly from whatever was producing the terrible fumes. Hearing an angry grunt, Kei looked up to see a huge...thing... holding a club and advancing towards him. Kei felt anger rise him at that the sight of the thing that hurt his nose. Without thinking the ANBU ran forward and jumped into the air, kicking the thing in its eyes, and using all his might to kick off again, sending the thing stumbling backwards. Kei took out a kunai and tied wire to the hilt, throwing it he made the wire wrap around the stumbling things legs, and he pulled. The thing fell backwards and cracked it's head off the wall, where afterwards it landed in an unmoving heap. Not waiting to savour his victory, Hatake rushed out of the room.

The next room had a table in the middle with bottles, but Kei didn't care. He took out his summoning scroll, and called Taka. When the large mountain dog appeared, the little jounin grabbed the shirt the ninken brought with it, and quickly inhaled in the scent of Itachi. Kei sighed happily, as he sank into the side of Taka, and inhaled again, happy to wipe all traces of that foul thing from his nose.

When Kei felt calmer, he slowly opened his eye and looked around the new room. The door he had come through was now covered in purple flames, and the other door in the room had black flames. Kei walked over to the table with the bottles, keeping Itachi's shirt to his nose, scared that the bottles would hold something foul as well. He picked up the paper and slowly read the words, still not used to reading English.

Kei sighed as he struggled with the words, and decided to just leave it be. Kei sent Taka back with the shirt, and faced the door. Forming a series of hand seals, Kei finished with a ram seal, and pushed chakra through his hands, creating a large shark made of water. Pushing his hands forward, the shark went flying towards the door, and started smothering the flames. Unsure on how magical fire worked, Kei quickly kicked the door open and stepped through just as his shark disappeared, and at the fire sprang back to life, leaving the edge of his pants slightly burnt.

Looking around the new room, Kei was slightly let down that there wasn't anything he had to fight here. It seemed like a pattern between fight, avoid, fight, avoid, fight, and avoid. Where was his fight?

Kei walked up to the only object in the room. Looking at the large mirror, Kei wondered why the Headmaster had gone through such lengths to protect it. It was nice to look at, but it didn't seem that special from other old mirrors out there. There were words but Kei didn't know what they said, Instead he looked into the mirror and at his reflection, and that is where he got a shock.

Kei could see himself at home in his bedroom, napping with Kakashi, Itachi, and Sasuke. Everyone was sleeping. Kei was laying on top of Kakashi, with Itachi and Sasuke on either side of them. Itachi had one arm thrown over Kei's waist, and Sasuke had on hand tangled in Kei's hair. Everyone had a content look on their face, and a picture in the back showed a group shot of everyone important in Kei's life posing in front of the Hokage Monument.

Kei smiled at the sight, and wished for it someday to be true. It would be wonderful if the Uchiha's could find a home in Konoha again one day, but Kei wasn't going to waste time and energy on fantasizing. Instead, he stared past the mirror and asked aloud "What are you hiding?" He knew that it wasn't the mirror that was the item needing protection. Something just told him there was more to it. As if answering his question, the mirror shimmered and the image inside changed.

Kei saw himself as he was, but his mirror image was smiling and holding a red stone. Kei couldn't see anything important about the stone. It just seemed like a shiny red stone. His reflection threw the stone up a few times, and caught it. The boy watched it curiously, until the reflection dropped the stone in his pocket. Kei felt a new weight in his pocket and reached in to pull out a red stone. Looking at his reflection that winked at him, or maybe blinked, it was hard to tell with one eye, Kei glared at it.

"Who said I wanted this? I just wanted to know what was hidden here." Kei stated.

His reflection just silently laughed and stuck its tongue out at Kei. The Anbu thought it was terribly childish.

"Take it back." Kei said, offering up the stone to the mirror.

The reflection shook it's head, and smiled. Crossing it arms as if stating it refused to touch the stone again, Kei's reflection looked quite smug. He refused to argue with his own reflection, so he settled back for a long staring contest.

o.O.o

Kei calmly fell into step with Makoto as the older male walked down the hall with Bones. Makoto raised a single eyebrow in questions, but all he got was a mischievous smile and reply that his partner just had a great adventure, and Makoto missed it. Makoto moved his hand to point out the slightly burnt hem of his pants, and the torn sleeve, and Kei gave a small frown in response. Makoto placed a hand on his partner's shoulder in concern, so Kei smiled with his eye closed to show him that he was perfectly fine physically. That done, Makoto dropped his hand and the pair continued to follow Bones silently.

When they reached the entryway from before, Bones turned around to address Makoto only to stop at the sight of the Hatake. "Mr. Hatake, where ever did you appear from?"

"I got lost Bones-san, but then I saw Makoto and tagged along."

"Well I will have to have a word with Susan about taking better care with guests."

"That's fine Bones-san, but we should be getting back. It's getting late and I still have school tomorrow." Kei prompted.

"Of Course, just hold onto you portkeys once you leave the gates, and you will be back in your apartment." Kei and Makoto bowed and thanked the woman before leaving the castle, and going home. They didn't like using portkeys, but since it was the only way back to Japan, they didn't have a choice.

Once they were settled back into their apartment, Makoto focused on Kei.

"What did you do?"

"The third floor corridor, the forbidden one." Kei stated simply.

"What was there?" Makoto didn't need to ask, he knew his curious little friend would have gone to check it out.

Kei grinned before telling his partner all about this adventure. He was a little upset he couldn't take the three headed dog with him, but the dog already had an owner, and Kei wouldn't dare steal someone else's pet. No matter how cute it was.

Several times Makoto raised an eyebrow during the tale. He had been interested in what the vines were, but since Kei didn't stop to collect a sample he couldn't study it. Kei had to regretfully tell his partner that he couldn't steal any of the key's because it seemed they went turned into regular, unflying keys once they left their own chamber. Makoto had paid no mind to the statue room, but he had wanted to check out the bottles, curious as to what was in them. When Kei reached the end, Makoto was upset that he missed such a great time.

"So did give the stone back?" Makoto asked.

"Apparently you can't win when you're having a staring contest with yourself." Kei pouted.

"The stone is still on you?" Makoto perked up, wondering what was so special about it.

"Yup." Kei reached into his pocket, took out the red stone, and handed it to Makoto. "I had hoped it would be something to help Konoha but it just seems like a decorative rock."

Makoto inspected the stone with a frown as he turned it over several times in his hand. "It doesn't look like it will catch a lot of money." Makoto said as he handed the stone back. "It might just be a test from the Headmaster. See how many students would try to break in, and which get past the tests." Makoto offered.

"Does he seem the type?" Kei asked as he took out wire and started fixing it around the stone.

"He was quite...colourful. He had this odd twinkle in his eye, and appears to be somewhat senile." Makoto explained. "I think most is an act. He asked very calculated questions when he questioned Bones-san about me. He is someone we should be wary of." Makoto concluded.

"Finished!" Kei announced holding up the stone. The Summoner had used the wire to make a cradle for the stone and then added a long piece to make it look like a necklace. Kei took out his scroll and summoned Taka. "Hey boy, you did good today so I made you a present." Kei explained as he tied the stolen stone around the large dog's neck. "It's looks good on you, boy." Kei cooed as he nuzzled Taka's face. The dog gave a pleased bark, before Kei sent him back. "Ne... guess we will just be extra cautious around the man, and not spend any time in his presence."

Makoto nodded his head in agreement, before standing up and stretching. "I'll go make a report to Tsunade-sama, but I will leave out the stone."

"I'll start dinner." Kei offered. Both shinobi went to different rooms to carry out their duties, the headmaster and stone easily forgotten.

o.O.o

Kei was in a situation he had never been in before, and he didn't quite know what to do. He had gone to school as usual, but then he had gotten a letter. Someone asked him to meet them on the roof of the school, after classes but before club meetings. Seeing no harm in the situation, Kei had gone, and was met with one of his classmates.

Her name was Hanako, and she had long black hair, and dark eyes. She was taller than the other girls, and Kei, in the class and was often on her own. Kei had never paid much attention to her, but he did know that she was part of the gardening club. She had a twin brother that was also part of the Kendo Club, that Kei talked to sometimes, and he was a fun guy, almost the complete opposite of his serious and studious sister.

" Hatake-san...I.." Kei tilted his head, curious as to what the girl wanted to say. She wasn't looking at him but off to the side and her face was flushed.

As he was waiting for Hanako to gather her thoughts, he noticed that three other girls from their class had seemed to follow the taller girl up to the roof. They were hiding behind wall and giggling as the pointed to Hanako. The shinobi didn't know what was happening but he though their actions were rude. Kei turned his attention back to Hanako when she started talking again.

"You're in the Kendo club with my brother, and I know you have a tournament coming up...so I just wanted to know if you would let me go... and cheer you on? As your...girlfriend." Hanako had a very unique way of speaking. No matter what she was doing, or what she was talking about, her voice always had an official like tone to it. Kei thought she would do well as business owner or a political leader.

He looked up at the girl before smiling. He had never really had a girl be his friend before. He had Kurenai and Anko, but they were much older than him, and Hanako was his age. "I would really like that." Kei told her.

Hanako seemed stunned at his words, and Kei wasn't exactly sure why. The three girls that were hiding had seemed to fall down, and were staring at the pair with large eyes. Kei ignored them as he grabbed Hanako's hand and led her towards the stairs.

"I have practice now, but after club activities do you want to go get dango?" Kei asked his new friend.

Hanako seemed to revert back to her usual self as she pulled her hand out of Kei's and cleared her throat. "I would like that, but you don't need to hold my hand and pull me everywhere." Hanako lightly scolded.

"Did you know any good dango places?" Kei asked not even batting an eye at the light reprimand.

"I may know a few..." Hanako trailed off "But my brother thinks I make the best."

Kei stopped walking and stared at Hanako with eyes full of adoration. "W-will you make me some?"

"If you like."

Kei tackled the girl, and hugged her tightly, "You're the best Hanako-chan!"

After, Kei helped Hanako back to her feet and once more grabbed the girls hand and led her down from the roof, babbling about how Hanako must be the best girl in the entire school, and how much he liked her. Hanako silently followed blushing the entire time from Kei's words, and the stares they were receiving from other students.

o.O.o

When Kei got home, he couldn't wait to tell Makoto about everything. The older shinobi raised a curious eyebrow at the bouncing Jounin, and patiently waited as Kei told him all about the wonderful Hanako-chan. Makoto interrupted his partner when he got to a certain part.

"Did you say she was your girlfriend?" Makoto didn't want to believe his ears. It honestly couldn't be true! He already saw the horrible death Kakashi would inflict on him for not watching Kei closely enough. Kei couldn't have a girlfriend! It went against everything Kakashi worked for!

"Hanako-chan asked if she could cheer me on at the tournament as my girlfriend, and I said yes. What's wrong with having a girlfriend?"

"Kei... there's a difference between a girlfriend... and a friend that is a girl."

Kei stared at Makoto blankly and blinked a few times.

"When you have a girlfriend you hold hands, and hug...sometimes kiss." Makoto awkwardly explained.

"I held Hanako-chan's hand, and we hugged." Kei pointed out.

"Okay, but a girlfriend is someone you..." Makoto didn't know what to say or where to go with this. Thinking quickly he decided he needed examples. "Kei, you know how Kurenai goes on dates with Asuma, and how they like to kiss and hug afterwards?"

"Yes. Nii-san says we should always make fun of them for dating."

"Exactly! Having a girlfriend means your dating her. You will get made fun of therefore you shouldn't be Hanako-chan's boyfriend." Makoto mentally patted himself on the back.

"But Kurenai and Asuma look really happy together. Hanako-chan promised to make me dango, and that makes me happy."

Makoto groaned. "Yes but..." He needed a way out, but with dango on the line there was no way Kei was going to back out. "Fine! But you tell Kakashi alone, and tell him I had nothing to do with this." Makoto declared.

Kei smiled at him. "It will be okay. I know what dating is. Satoshi went on a date before one of his Shogi tournaments with a girl he had been friends with for a long time. Kiba even took me on a date once."

It was Makoto's turn to stare at his partner and blink. Thinking on it, Makoto ran down a list of things Kakashi had told him he taught Kei. Kissing was only for family members, sex was torture, prostitutes were women who wanted to clean bedrooms, marriage was a civilian only ritual, and dating had never been mentioned. Makoto couldn't believe that Kakashi had overlooked something. He probably thought he would always be around to head it off or something. Makoto would need to look into this. Hatake's gave him headaches, since they never made any sense!

"So you know about dating and girlfriends and boyfriends?"

"Dating is when two people eat together, go places, and have fun. Like when we went to that amusement park last week, it was a date. And the time Kiba took me to dinner that was a date." Kei explained.

Makoto was back to square one. While Kei did know the skeleton outline of dating, he didn't understand it all. That was good. That gave Makoto time.

"Tomorrow after school I'm going to Hanako's to study. She's really good at English and promised to help me, plus she is making dango." Kei moved on, not even giving any concern to the previous topic

"Well that's... beneficial." Perhaps Kei having a girlfriend wasn't all bad...

o.O.o

The next day at school, Kei noticed many people were whispering about him and Hanako. Some seemed surprised that they were dating, and a few girls even said some horrible things about Hanako. Kei didn't give them any attention since he was used to positive and negative whispers his way.

When he arrived at his classroom, Hanako was already there reading. She looked up from her book, and smiled at Kei when he entered. The youngest Hatake instantly moved to her side and started a conversation. "Ne Hanako-chan, did you get in trouble yesterday for being home late? I'm sorry for dragging you to so many dango shops."

"Kei-kun it's fine. My mother was slightly upset but after I told her where I was she was fine with it." Hanako responded. The classroom erupted into a bunch of whispers as their classmates started talking about the newest gossip. Not only was Hatake, Kei dating Morikawa, Hanako, but they had spent all evening together.

o.O.o

Kei sat at the table and listened diligently as Hanako explained nouns and pronouns to him. Kei took notes and asked questions when he was confused, but generally was a very attentive student. Having someone actually teach English made it a lot easier to understand than trying to learn from a book.

"Kei-kun, I think it's time for a break." Hanako declared as she broke from her lecture.

"Ne, You are so smart Hanako-chan. How are you so good at English?" Kei asked as he finished making a few more notes.

Hanako's face pinked a little but the girl cleared her throat and explained. "You're the smart one Kei-kun, you are picking up the language extremely quickly. My mother is from the United States. Her first language is English and she taught it to us growing up."

"So do you know any other languages beside English and Japanese?"

"No, just the two." Hanako responded. "Are you going to stop seeing me now that you know about my mother?" Hanako hesitantly asked.

Kei gave the girl a weird look. He didn't understand, "Why would I stop seeing you because of your mother?"

"Well, because she's not Japanese. The other girls in class laugh at me and ignore me because I'm a half-breed."

Kei just blinked at the girl. "That's not nice of them. I think you are fun to be around, and really smart. You make me smile and laugh, and I feel sorry for those girl because they are missing out because of their twisted opinions."

Hanako gave Kei a slightly watery smile, before she cleared her throat and looked in another direction. "You should be more jealous. If I had more friends then I wouldn't have as much time to make you dango."

Kei smiled a sneaky smile at the girl, and chose to let the topic change. "You said you were coming to my tournament tomorrow, right? My cousin Makoto is going too, he wants to know what you would like to eat for lunch."

Hanako happily took the subject change, and scolded Kei, telling him that it was her duty as the girlfriend to prepare the lunches and that his cousin shouldn't bother. Kei only nodded and agreed with her, and Hanako nodded her head approvingly at his actions. After that, she quickly set them back on to learning English.

o.O.o

On the last day before summer vacation Kei had to stay behind to talk with the teacher. They briefly talked about when Kei needed to come to Kendo practice during the break, and about a week long training camp. Kei promised to tell his guardian and get written consent to go, before he left the room.

As he walked down the hallway he heard two girls around the corner. Kei was going to ignore them until he heard his name.

"You think you are so cool and popular now just because you managed to trick Hatake-sama, the coolest guy in school to date you." One girl mocked in a loud and slow tone.

"Did you pay him or something? Another girl piped up.

"I would appreciate it if you would leave me alone." Hanako's voice cut in.

"Not until you promise to stay away from Hatake-sama!" The first girl demanded.

Kei decided to make his presence known, so he noisily walked around the corner, pretending to stumble and drop a book. All three heads snapped towards him, and the first girl, Hikari, rushed to his side.

"Hatake-sama are you okay? Here's your book." Hikari held out Kei's book, trying to mother him.

"I'm just fine, but I'm afraid I need to steal my girlfriend. We have plans." Kei smiled at the two girls, as he stepped forward and took Hanako's hand into his. He calmly walked away, acting normal. Once out of earshot she whispered to Hanako, "Don't listen to anything they say. I was bullied once too, but in the end their words never matter. Not every war needs to be fought with fists and blood. You can smile and move forward, improving yourself, or you can succumb and be miserable. I found smiling much more pleasant."

Hanako squeezed his hand. "You are much more mature than I thought you were at first."

"What do you mean?" Kei asked.

"Well... at first you appear to be a really happy and silly kid, but then you show that you are smart in class. That is why I first liked you, because you were smart. But now, I can see that you are more than just a kid, you are actually mature at times, and very sincere." Hanako explained.

Kei smiled at her, and squeezed her hand back. "Does maturity get me more dango?"

Hanako gave a light laugh at that, and shook her head. "What will I do with you?"

"Make me more dango?"

o.O.o

Kei happily skipped beside Makoto as the pair made their way to the Konoha gates. Kei could wear his mask again, and Makoto was finally free of wearing tracksuits for awhile, both were very happy over those facts. They were coming back to give a formal report to Tsunade about their mission, and also take a break now that Kei was on summer holiday. He had two weeks off before he was supposed to go to the Kendo Training Camp, so Kei and Makoto was taken the chance to go home. As they walked up to the gates, they saw Kotetsu and Izumo, sitting at the gate house, flicking cereal at each other in complete boredom.

"The security of this village is seriously lacking." Kei announced.

"We could probably rob it blind and be in Mist before they noticed." Makoto responded.

The two Chuunin jumped and then fell from their chairs. Peaking over the ledge of the gatehouse, the two sets of eyes widened, and then Kotetsu and Izumo jumped out, tackling Kei to the ground.

"Kei-chan is home!" Kotetsu cheered, peppering Kei's face in kisses.

"We've missed you." Izumo stated as he got up, looking more dignified than his partner. Izumo quickly hugged Makoto, and then proceeded to inspect him for injuries.

"It's good to be home, Kei and I have missed it dearly." Makoto responded, holding up his arms and spinning slowly so Izumo could inspect more thoroughly.

"Kakashi will be happy to see you two. He's been stumbling around the village moping. He even spent an entire day in the Hokage's office sighing while staring at Kei's picture, sometimes asking if Tsunade liked Kei in those bunny ears. She threw a desk at him." Kotetsu explained when he finally got off Kei.

"Where is Nii-san?" Kei asked.

"Training ground 7, I think." Kotetsu answered.

"Makoto, lets go see Nii-san!" Kei cheered already dragging his partner off.

"You need to report to the Hokage!" Izumo yelled.

"Later!" Kei yelled back.

Izumo shook his head, and gave up. Hatake's only followed their own schedules.

When the pair got to the training ground, Kei did something that Makoto would forever remember. As soon as Kei saw his brother, he had rushed off and tackled hugged the man. Kakashi had lifted Kei up and spun him around, cheering as his team looked on. Then Kei said the fateful words. "Nii-san, I got a girlfriend!" And Kakashi fainted.

o.O.o

The following couple days after Kakashi woke up, Kakashi had acted as if Kei never said a word about a girlfriend. Whenever Kei brought up this mysterious Hanako, Kakashi would change the subject or find something about his little brother to mother. Kei seemed oblivious to his brothers actions, and would smile and have fun with everyone else. Makoto would have ignored it to, if he hadn't been corner by Kakashi one night, and roughly pushed into his own bedroom.

"Oh Makoto-kun, fancy seeing you here. Come here often?" Kakashi asked, in a polite and light tone that completely belied his murderous glinting eye.

Makoto couldn't do it. He could go along and feign polite conversation until Kakashi finally had enough and demanded answers or he could just get it over with and hope the punishment wasn't too bad. "I had nothing to do with it. Kei said that some girl asked if she could cheer him on and he agreed and next thing anyone knows they were boyfriend and girlfriend." Makoto blurted.

"So some girl tricked my sweet and innocent Kei?" Nothing changed in Kakashi demeanour as he asked another question.

"Well I wouldn't say tricked..." Makoto wanted to spare Hanako from any wrath Kakashi would be sure to carry out. "You didn't steer Kei away from the girlfriend concept so with his limited knowledge about girlfriends and dating, he saw nothing wrong with the situation."

"Well we will just have to correct this wont we?" Kakashi asked.

"I don't think it's wise. Kei is already attached to Hanako, plus the girl is helping him and in turn, me, learn English." Makoto argued.

"He can find another tutor. One that isn't lusting after him, with plans to forever steal him away."

"The girl is only 12, I don't think her plans are that elaborate."

"Kei is only 11 and he takes on secret missions and assassinations."

"But children there don't graduate shinobi academy at 5."

"Doesn't take a shinobi to plot and kill."

"But it does take one brother complex to ruin happiness."

"How do you know he's truly happy with her?"

"She makes him dango." Makoto stated simply.

"Oh." Kakashi pouted. He may hate the idea of Kei dating, but the thought of depriving Kei of his much loved dango, stalled any plans to eliminate the girl. "She can stay for awhile..." Until Kei got tired of her, then Kakashi would go hunt her down for even thinking of stealing Kei.

Makoto sighed, knowing exactly what Kakashi was thinking . He may have backed down for now, but Makoto refused to believe that he would forget about the situation. He briefly wondered if his life would be simpler, calmer, or more normal if he had not been paired with Kei. But he wiped it away, he probably would be dead by now if it weren't for his little partner.

o.O.o

It was Makoto's birthday when Tsunade called the pair into her office. Sai was already waiting for them, and He was holding slice of cake that he held out as soon as Makoto arrived.

"Happy Birthday, Makoto-san." He said with a small bow.

Makoto smiled at Sai, and took the cake taking a bite before Kei jumped on his back and stole a piece. "Thank you Sai-kun, it's delicious."

"Is this happy fest over yet?" Tsunade asked before Kei could pounce on the treat.

The identical nods answered her as she tossed a scroll at Sai."Masks on, you have a mission. You have two days to complete it, and I will only accept favourable results." Tsunade told them sternly.

Opening the scroll, the three read it quickly and their eyes widened at the details of the mission. It was a very... unusual request. Konoha was known for sometimes doing a follow up on their important missions. It was a safety net really. They would perform a mission, and a few days or weeks later, they would send someone to check up on the client. The idea was that if Konoha showed interest or concern after a mission as complete, than the client would feel more inclined to call on the city again in the future, thus improving their revenue. But, usually it was the shinobi who had completed the mission to begin with, that did the follow up. Tsunade was asking them to go in full ANBU gear to Star Country and follow up on a mission that Neji, Lee, Tenten, and Naruto performed.

"Hokage-sama, is there a reason you chose us for this mission?" Makoto asked.

"The mission was absolute trash, but there is a small chance we fan forge a connection to Star Country. They are a small shinobi body, and now that their star is gone, there is a chance that other countries might see this as a chance to invade them. If we were to form a friendship, they would call on us to help in case of an invasion, and then we will have better access to some of their commodities that are otherwise hard to obtain, and show the smaller nations we are friendly, leading to more open bridges.

"I would have sent Neji back, but he is currently on another mission with his team, and there is no way I'm sending Naruto. He would probably mess up somehow and get the opposite reaction than we want. You three are free, and have experience in diplomacy. I need the best to make this happen. " Tsunade explained.

"Naruto has been growing up. I see him practising more on his own lately, and even going to the library to research scrolls. Lee and Aburame, Shino have been seen training with him, and I have seen the improvement with my own eyes." Sai spoke up. "I don't think we should underestimate him like we have before."

"Do you know what prompted such a change?" Kei asked.

"I believe the death of Uchiha, Sasuke is motivating him." Sai answered simply.

"His performance on missions has improved, I will admit, but I don't think he is ready for diplomacy." Tsunade added.

"He wants to be Hokage someday. I think it would be beneficial if you started sending him out on some follow up missions. Have him tag along and observe" Makoto suggested.

"I could..." Tsunade trailed off, thinking for a moment. "I might send him to Sand then. He had developed a good friendship with Gaara, and he would have a smaller chance of insulting someone there and causing a war."

"What of Sakura? Naruto has changed and grown, but Sakura as the other teammate, how has she been acting?" Makoto directed his question towards Sai and the Hokage.

"She is lazy." Sai stated. Three pairs of eyes stared at him, all asking for more information. "Sakura-chan will show up to training sessions and do the bare minimum. She does not try to improve herself out side of training, and is often seen near the Uchiha Complex and staring into space. Her friend Ino-san has been trying to coax her into sparing or doing something, but Sakura-chan waves her off."

"What about her behaviour and performance on missions?" Kei asked the Hokage.

"Her first mission after the death of Sasuke, she performed badly, got heavily injured and spent time in the hospital. The next she was just as bad, so I have avoided sending her on missions, hoping the phase will pass. Sai do you think she still has the ability to be a kunoichi?"

Sai took a moment to consider the question. "I believe she has potential to be a shinobi, but I wouldn't advise it."

"Oh?" Tsunade leaned forward, clearly interested in the explanation.

"She is weak willed. When she assumed that Sasuke died, her drive failed. She does not try and shows no improvement. Even if you did tell her that Sasuke is alive, she will probably be motivated for a while before she loses her motivation once more. I do not think a person who falters in their will or desire to protect the village, should be a shinobi. What if someone offered to take her to Sasuke if she gave them village secrets?"

Kei, Makoto, and Tsunade all took time to process Sai's words. They could see his reasoning. If Sakura knew that Sasuke was alive and was offered a chance to join him, they could see her doing just about anything to comply. That left the village in a dangerous position since as a shinobi she had access to certain parts of the village that were forbidden for civilians, like the shinobi library.

"But if you cut her shinobi status how will that affect Naruto?" Kei asked.

"It might motivate him more. You never know with Naruto on what will drive him more or hinder him. Well, besides ramen." Makoto threw out.

"But is it worth the chance? What if it has the opposite affect and Naruto loses some fire because he lost another teammate?" Kei countered.

"This is not a problem for you three to solve. I will think over everything we discussed and come up with a solution, for now you have a mission, now go." Tsunade commanded, ending things.

"Yes, Hokage-sama." The three Jounin intoned before leaving her office.

They gathered their supplies and left the village quickly. While they packed, they had agreed that Sai would keep watch on the situation and inform Kei and Makoto later when they returned during their Hogwarts mission. They may not have been friends with Naruto and Sakura, but they had all worked with them, or helped train them. They didn't want to see two shinobi crash and burn before they could even make Chuunin.

o.O.o

Star Country was an easy mission. They kept their masks on the entire time and talked to the Hoshikage, and even took a quick tour. They checked out the barracks, and the old training grounds, and while Kei distracted the Hoshikage, Makoto, and Sai performed a quick search to make sure that the village wasn't hiding any pieces of the star, or looking into other means of deadly training to give them an edge. When the inspection was complete without the Hoshikage knowing, they went back to the village, and settled in for the night.

As the village slept, they ran another inspection, and took notes about the villages people, government system, stores, and the general impression they got. The next morning, in a show of friendship, the three talked with the Hoshikage about his security and how they thought he could improve it. They complemented the village and the shinobi in training, and put on a friendly atmosphere. They also apologized for everything Naruto said or did while he was here.

The village people warmed up to them after that, and when it was time to go, they left a very good impression on everyone, and a note that the Hoshikage could call on Konoha for help at anytime.

When they arrived back at the village, it was to discover that Tsunade had called for a complete psych evaluation of Sakura.

"I decided to see how she would respond to other areas of shinobi life, so I set her up to learn under Rikoto. After five minutes Rikoto had kicked her out of his office saying he refused to work with another crazy girl." Tsunade looked to Kei for an answer.

"His ex girlfriend, Akemi." Tsunade nodded her head and continued.

"I was going to try her with another medic-nin, but I thought the psych evaluation should be performed first so we don't waste anyone's time."

"Does Naruto or Kakashi know about this?" Makoto asked.

"No, I have kept this information on a need to know basis. Naruto has not been informed, but Kakashi was told prior to the hospital staff taking her. She is staying in a hospital room tonight to observe her behaviour and undergo questioning. They have her under the pretence that they are teaching her bedside manner through demonstration. She will be the patent while they run various test trying to find an unknown problem. She was told to answer truthfully as to make it harder on them, but they also have an expert posing as a medic to determine if she lying or speaking half truths. In reality they are just taking notes on how she reacts to being under observation, and interacting with others. The questions will help build a profile, and by tomorrow, we will have a better idea if we should keep her on as a shinobi.

The three males nodded approvingly, agreeing with the Hokage's actions.

"Now there's an ANBU training exercise happening tonight if you three wish to join."

"Makoto, we can't get rusty." Kei said teasingly to his partner.

"It will be nice to have a proper training session again." Makoto responded, already happy with the idea of going to train.

o.O.o

Kei laughed in glee as the adrenaline pumped through his body. He dodged a few more attacks, and then switched directions in mid jump to attack the person trying to sneak up on him. Makoto was off in another group fighting, while Sai was one of the ANBU trying to hit Kei. It had been so long since Kei was in a good fight, and as the weapons and fists flew, Kei felt the air sing, and ground tremble in excitement.

Kei was so lost in the fight that he didn't notice when the shaking ground grew more and more. Finally he snapped out of his adrenaline fused mind when he heard another ANBU blow a whistle and call a halt to spars. Kei dropped to the ground, and instantly felt that there was something wrong. Raising his nose to sniff the air, Kei stood up and whispered a single word "Akamaru?"

The ANBU closest to him turned to look at him, but didn't say anything. The shaking was increasing, and finally one of the ANBU captains warned everyone to be ready. He was starting to organize scout groups when Kei yelled. "Stop! It's here." Just as his words left his mouth a gigantic dog burst into the clearing and growled at them.

"Akamaru?" Makoto said from the other side of the clearing, in a confused tone.

The dog ignored him as its eyes searched the clearing and finally landed on its target. Kei. The dog gave a loud angry bark before it charged forward, straight at Kei. Kei dodged the initial attack, and wondered what he could do. He didn't want to hurt Akamaru since the dog was Kiba's but he also didn't know any other way to stop it from attacking.

As Akamaru ran around the clearing trying to get Kei, it was quickly taking down the other ANBU that tried to subdue it. Kei heard Makoto scream and his head snapped to his partner, only to get sideswiped by one of Akamaru's giant paws. Kei was thrown into a tree, and before he could hit the ground, Akamaru was on him again, clamping him between his jaws.

Kei screamed as the dogs teeth broke through his skin in several places, and a few bones snapped. Kei could feel as the hot drool in Akamaru's mouth ran down his body, mixing with his blood as it rushed out of his body. Kei could hear yelling in the background, but his eyes were shut tightly as Akamaru started shaking his head back and forth. Kei let out one last scream of pain just before he passed out.

When Kei woke, it was to the desperate pleas of Kiba. His friend was sitting on the edge of his bed, clutching his hand, and slowly rocking back and forth, as he made numerous promises to Kami-sama to just save Kei. The chibi cyclops squeezed his friend's hand, and said his name softly to catch his attention. Kiba's eye opened and instantly brightened at the sight of an awake Kei.

"Oh Kei I am so sorry. I didn't know that Akamaru would do that, and when I heard I instantly rushed over here. I'm so sorry! I don't think I can ever make it up to you!" Kiba cried. "I knew Akamaru wasn't that fond of you but to track you down and attack like that, I don't... I don't know what to do."

Kei looked at his friend with sad eyes. He wasn't sure what caused Akamaru to grow and go crazy, but he knew it was in no way Kiba's fault. His oldest friend had always tried to protect Kei. Kiba had never tried to hurt him once. "Kiba it's fine. I know it wasn't your fault."

"Kei... I..."Kiba stumbled.

"Shhh." Kei raised his undamaged hand to place over Kiba's mouth. "It wasn't your fault. Okay?"

Kiba nodded slowly, staring into Kei's eyes begging for forgiveness.

"Good. Now what happened with Akamaru?" Kei asked, releasing Kiba's mouth.

"They locked him up. They said he has caught some weird bacteria from out last mission. If..."Kiba stumbled. "If they can't cure him they're going to...k-kill him."

Kei felt his heart ache in pain with his friend. Kiba absolutely adored Akamaru. Kei would even go as far as saying that Kiba loved Akamaru more than Tsume-kaasan. Kei could see Kiba's eyes watering, and slowly pulled Kiba down so the older boy was lying on the bed with him, letting him hide his face in his shoulder. That is the position they both were in as the drifted back to sleep.

When Kei woke next, It was to the feeling of Kiba climbing off the bed. Opening his eye, he watched as his friend straightened his clothes and his face developed a determined look.

"Kiba..."

Kiba looked at him and offered him a small smile. "I'm sorry Kei-chan. I know what Akamaru did was bad, but I can't let them just kill him. I need to save him somehow."

Kei nodded his head in understanding. "Be careful Kiba."

"Always." Kiba reassured. Kiba started walking towards the door, but as he placed on hand on the frame he stopped. "Kei...Can I do one thing before I leave?"

"Sure."

Kiba turned around and slowly walked back to the bed. He use done hand to slowly lower Kei's mask and the other to caress Kei's cheek. "I'm sorry, not just for Akamaru but everything. I haven't been a great friend lately, and I never really tried to fix the relationship between you and Akamaru."

Slowly Kiba leaned over Kei, and stared straight into his eyes. "I can't lose Akamaru, but I know I couldn't lose you either." Kiba said before he lowered his face so his lips lightly touched Kei's.

Kei wanting to reassure his friend pushed up a little, putting more force behind the kiss. Kiba responded positively and moved his lips. Kei followed, and the small tentative kiss picked up speed. Kei closed his eye as he tried to identify all the new feelings and senses he felt from the kiss. He had never been kissed like this before. He had seen people kiss like this, but seeing and doing were different.

Kei gave a small gasp when he felt Kiba's tongue slip into his mouth. It was weird but good having another's tongue rubbing against his own. It felt like Kiba's tongue was massaging his. Kei was starting to feel a strain on his lungs and breathed in through his nose, happy when found he could breathe and kiss at the same time. He gave a small sigh of happiness, and that sound seemed to encourage to kiss harder.

Finally, Kiba pulled away, and Kei could only stare at the older boy in a daze. Kei could make out that Kiba wore a very satisfied smile, before his smile dropped a little. "Kei, please don't let anyone else kiss you like that." Kei absently nodded, as something in the back of his mind warned him that Kakashi wouldn't be happy if he knew.

"Time to save Akamaru." Kiba whispered as placed a light kiss on Kei's cheek and replaced his mask. "I love you." He said before he turned and left the room. Kei stared at the door for a few minutes trying to understand what happened. When the door opened, he hoped it was Kiba coming back to answers some questions, but instead it was Makoto, looking grim, with a new scar across his left cheek.

o.O.o

Akamaru turned out to be okay. There was a scare where he almost killed Kiba, but luckily in the end everything was okay. Kiba had come by the hospital to talk to Kei, but Makoto was acted strangely and ushered the boy out, claiming Kei needed sleep. Kei had tried to tell Makoto to let Kiba in, but his partner pretended as if he didn't hear. Kakashi had been upset when he had returned from a mission to find Kei in the hospital and decided that he was sit vigil at his bedside guarding Kei from anything and everything .

When it was finally time to go back to Japan, Kei didn't get the chance to talk to Kiba, or Tsunade about Sakura. He had tried asking Makoto but his partner told him he forgot all about the girl too. In the end they were shuffled out of the village by Kakashi, who was being over protective, and led safely to their portkey spot. In the apartment, they quickly went to settle in and Kei decided it was time to get answers, even if it wasn't from Kiba.

Kei nervously shuffled into his and Makoto's room. He wanted answers but he still felt embarrassed admitting that he didn't know what something meant.

"Koto can I ask you a question?" Kei asked while scratching the back of his head.

"What would you like to know Kei-chan?" Makoto placed a book aside and gave his full attention to his little partner.

"Well the guys were talking about how the girls always follow me... and then they said something about kissing using their tongue... I didn't quite understand, so I thought Makoto would know." Kei wasn't ready to admit to his kiss with Kiba, so he figured being abstract about the source would work best.

"Were they really talking about kissing you with tongue?" Makoto smiled pleasantly at the fidgeting boy, but there was something hidden. "Or are you asking because you were kissed with tongue, by Kiba-kun?"

Kei felt himself blush. He was caught. "You saw?"

"Yes." Makoto responded quickly.

"I don't know what it means." Kei admitted. "I wanted to ask Kiba but you kept getting rid of him."

"Well there's different types of kissing Kei. Come closer Kei." Kei curiously moved closer, waiting for his partners explanation. Slowly Makoto reached up and lowered Kei's mask. Suddenly, Makoto shot out his other hand and pulled Kei into his lap. Kei's knees reflexively spread out and left the white haired boy straddling his partner.

"Kei, what Kiba wants from you if very intimate and personal." Makoto slid one hand up Kei's back to hold the back of his neck, while the other cupped his bum. "I'll show you what they want." Makoto pulled Kei closer and captured his lips.

Kei was stunned for a mere moment at his partner's actions, but as quick as it had come, it was gone, and Kei was left staring at Makoto in confusion. Slowly Makoto released him, but Kei only sat back on Makoto's thighs, using his eye to ask his partner for answers.

"Kei-chan, that with tongue, just like how Kiba kissed you, don't do that with just anyone. Only save that type of action for the one you give your full heart to. That isn't a brotherly kiss like you are used to from Kakashi. That kiss is exchanged between two people who love each other very deeply outside of familial love. Kiba loves you like that. You hold a very special place in his heart where his sister or mother will never reach. You shouldn't kiss him like that anymore unless you feel the same way." Makoto explained.

Kei rested his forehead on Makoto's chest as he thought about his partners words. He sort of understood what Makoto was explaining to him, but it was like there was a missing piece to the explanation.

"What would I be to Kiba if I did feel the same? We wouldn't just be best friends would we?" Kei asked.

"No, you would be boyfriends."

"But I'm Hanako's boyfriend." Kei pointed out.

"Yes but you didn't understand what that meant at the time. Now you know that whoever you choose to be a boyfriend or lover to is someone very special."

"And dating?"

"Dating is between a boyfriend and girlfriend, or a boyfriend and boyfriend."

"So Dating is between two people who love each other in a very special way, and they tongue kiss. Why didn't Nii-san tell me this?" Kei asked. Kakashi had always told him everything, it was strange for his brother to have forgotten something this important.

Makoto seemed hesitant to respond, but after a big sigh, he did. "He wanted to protect you. Sometimes people mistake that special love for something else, and the other person ends up heartbroken and in pain. He never wanted you to go through that type of pain. It's not something a medic-nin can cure."

Kei slowly nodded his head. "I understand. Nii-san only wants me safe and if he thought he was protecting me than I can't be mad. I'm glad you explained things to me Makoto." Kei smiled at his partner.

"Anything for you Kei." Makoto stated as he ran a hand through Kei's hair.

"I think I need to think about this. Not just how I feel about Kiba, but also Hanako. It isn't fair to her if we date and I don't feel the same way she does." Kei said.

"I think that's a good idea. But Kei... you don't need to figure out love now. I'm 21 and I still don't know who I love in that special way."

Kei stood up and went to the living room to think about everything Makoto had told him. There was new feeling that he needed to work out, and it didn't look like an easy task.

o.O.o

The next time Kei saw Hanako he took the girl to a park and sat down to have a serious talk. He had thought for hours on the subject and came to the conclusion this while he liked Hanako, it was more in a sibling way. He had never really had a sister before, and it had felt nice to substitute Hanako into that position. But it wasn't right. If Hanako loved Kei in that special way than he would need to clear it up before he hurt her in that way that couldn't be cured.

"Hanako-chan, I apologize. It seems I accidentally mislead you when I didn't understand my own feelings." Kei started.

Hanako entwined her fingers with Kei's and held tightly. "You don't like me in that way do you?"

Kei smiled at her insight. "No. I didn't understand what all this meant until Makoto explained it."

"It's okay Kei-kun. It was fun for awhile dating you, but I'm glad you figured everything out now."

"It's still all really confusing though."

Hanako laughed at that. "My mother told me that love will always be confusing."

"I can believe that."

o.O.o

The rest of the summer passed quickly as Kei and Makoto worked hard to learn English, and even started on the books of Wizarding etiquette and first year spells that Bones left. She had also left them a pile of books on defence that Makoto went through to understand what the other half of his class would be teaching. He formed an exercise schedule all the spells the read, and tweaked it to fit out of shape wizards. After all there was no way the witches an wizards would be able to keep up with him or Kei.

Kei had gone through the first year books and memorized most of them. He couldn't practice since he didn't have a wand yet, but at least he could answer questions on them, and even practice when he finally did get one.

The last week before Hogwarts was to start, Kei and Makoto were given Kei's Hogwarts letter, and a map to the Japanese Wizarding shopping area. Bones had said they could browse through there, and in two days when she collected them, they could get anything they didn't find in Diagon Alley.

Together they set out one morning to scope out the alley and see what it had to offer. When they arrived the first shop they saw sold wands. Kei and Makoto grinned at the sight and dove inside, They couldn't wait to start practising.

* * *

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Someone asked me 'What would Kakashi do if Kei asked him about babies.' I can admit my mind blanked at that question. Heroically deciding to answer it themselves and provide the fanfiction world with an answer, they typed out this little omake. Thank you Azreal Riddle. I may have fixed it up a bit, just so I could say I helped...I'm greedy.

**OMAKE**

"Ne, nii-san, where do babies come from?" Kei asked, looking up from his scroll.

Kakashi's head snapped in Kei's direction with wide eyes, "What did you say?" he asked in surprise.

"Where do babies come from?" Kei repeated watching his brother have a possible heart attack over an innocent question.

Blurting the first thing that came to his mind "from the Hokage" Kakashi said

"How?" asked Kei.

Thinking quickly Kakashi answered, "It involves paperwork, lots and lots of paperwork, that the Hokage has to fill out and approve." Kei shuddered in fear at the thought of paperwork and silently vowed to never be Hokage. Kakashi sighed in relief "Crisis averted" he mumbled to himself going back to his book silently promising to find who ever put that question into Kei's mind, and feed them to his ninken.

Somewhere in the village a young mother who had been spotted by Kei earlier, felt a chill creep down her spine. Looking around, the young mother went to close the window to stop any more cool breezes from entering her home.

* * *

The Votes are in and...

Voldie- 18, Oro-59, Tie- 6. I really think Oro's tongue and love of little boys really pulled him to victory this round.

Ginny- 36, Sakura- 47, Tie- 5. It was a close race, but when it came down to it, the voters thought that Sakura's inner voice and utter uselessness around Sasuke was the clincher.

Okay so last chapter many loved my Prince of Tennis reference, and I think two picked out the Superman one. But this round... Battle On!

Kei vs. Penal Tea

Manda vs. Basilisk

Also to head off some questions... Kei will start his first year at the start of Chamber of Secrets, Makoto is STRAIGHT, he was just proving a point, It is not a confirmed Kiba/Kei pairing because frankly I have no clue what to do with Kei's love life, I only focussed on the fighting and adventure part. You will learn the fate of Sakura soon, and Naruto will mature and be a respectable Shinobi. Kakashi will back off a little on his over protectiveness but only after a fight. Okay... I think that should cover most. Any more I will answer in reviews!


	34. Chapter 34

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way.

**Warnings**: Language, OC'ness, Het, Slash, twists and turns, fluff, smut, and abuse to the author, Loss of Kei's cuteness.

**A/N**: In case you haven't checked out my profile, there's two new pieces of Kei fanart, go check out the links!

**Beta:** FEARMEfrancis

**Fossilized Friends**

Kei and Makoto walked into the 'Warrior's Wands and Weapons' shop, sensing something familiar within. The inside held a glass counter full of various knives, daggers, and swords. The walls were lined with various weapons and some clothing. There was a door, behind the counter, and two chairs beside the front door. The two shinobi took a seat, and decided to wait for the owner to show up. They didn't need any more weapons and didn't see the point in looking only to deny themselves later.

Kei sat up when a very familiar scent hit his nose.

"Kei?" Makoto asked, hands on his hidden weapons.

"Makoto... We are about to see some old friends." Kei whispered. The door behind the counter opened and a very tall and built man stepped out, followed by a shorter and slimmer figure. "Zabuza, Haku." Kei smiled at the two.

The two ex missing nin stopped in their tracks and stared at the pair sitting in their shop. Makoto broke the deadlock by letting out a chuckle. "It's nice to see you two again."

Haku broke from his stunned state first. "Kei-chan, Makoto-kun, what are you doing here?" Haku asked as he stepped out from behind the counter.

"We have been living in Tokyo for a mission. How did you two end up here?" Kei asked. He didn't know any other way out of the hidden countries except by portkey.

"We'll explain soon, come to the back." Zabuza's gruff voice spoke for the first time. The larger man walked to the door and clicked the lock before flipping the open sign to close. The two leaf ninja followed as the supposed dead men led to the back of the shop and into a nice sitting room. Haku immediately busied himself with making tea, while Zabuza heavily sat down in a chair and stared at the two.

"The chibi Hatake isn't wearing his mask." Zabuza pointed out.

Kei grinned at the man. "Part of the mission."

"You're still short."

"Side effects."

"Pretty boy is still too pretty."

"Genetics." Makoto spoke up.

"You got a new scar on your face."

"Mission."

"Chibi only has one eye."

"Mission." Kei answered.

"You're both still too infuriating." Zabuza grumped.

Kei and Makoto smiled in unison at the man. This only caused a snort of distaste from the ex mist nin. Haku chose that moment to enter with the tea things, and cake.

"I made this strawberry shortcake yesterday, so it's still very delicious."

"Thank you Haku-kun." Kei took a bite-sized piece of cake and lifted it to his mouth. On the way, he sniffed the food for any poisons or other drugs, making it look like one clean movement of lifting the fork to his mouth. When it came up clean, he promptly put the piece in his mouth and hummed. The two ex nin missed Kei's inspection but Makoto saw- only because he was used to waiting for Kei to test new food. "It is very good Haku-kun." Kei complimented.

"Enough of this shit. Why are you in my shop?" Zabuza demanded.

Kei sent a look at Makoto for the older shinobi to take over.

"Kei and I are going on a mission to a Wizarding school. Kei will be enrolled as a student, while I will act as a teacher. Kei needs a wand, while I need a fake one in order to blend in better."

Zabuza stared at the pair before slowly nodding his head. "Which school?"

Neither leaf nin were going to question the man's knowledge just yet since they needed his services. "Scotland." Makoto answered simply.

Zabuza snorted before he looked Kei in the eye. "Have fun chibi."

Kei narrowed his eye in contemplation. "What do you mean?"

"When we got here and stumbled on this hidden shithole of a community, we studied everything we could for months. The former owner of this shop took us in and was teaching us his art, which worked best since you don't use magic to make weapons or focuses. When we finally learned enough to stand on our own, well that former owner came to an unfortunate end. Part of the training involved the magical schools all over the world. The school you are going to, Hogwarts, is apparently a trouble magnet. Just this past year, one of their teachers had a mental breakdown and committed suicide in the dining hall."

Neither Kei or Makoto reacted to the news. They had already heard from Bones about the incident. Professor Quirrell had shocked the entire castle with his screaming. He had been running around screeching about a missing stone and Dumbledore's lies and deception. He then started laughing hysterically before bursting into the dining hall and setting himself on fire. The teachers that had been chasing him to catch and stop him, had witnessed the man laughing as his body burned away. They had been grateful that no students had been around to see. When Dumbledore had arrived back the entire staff, surrounding a pile of ashes, met him. Kei and Makoto had kept quiet about Kei's recently discovered treasure.

"We'll manage." Kei stated simply.

"Yes I bet you will..." Zabuza trailed off.

"How did you two come to be here?" Makoto asked.

Haku sat up, and Zabuza had silently passed the reigns of conversation to him.

"After our meeting, Zabuza-san and I kept to our word and went and killed Gato and his men. We raided his hideout and managed to find a large sum of money. Most we kept for ourselves naturally, but what we couldn't carry we left at the fishing village after you left.

"We travelled west until we found a cave. The weather was turning bad so we hid inside. As we were inspecting the cave for anything unfriendly, we found it led to a shimmering rock wall. Zabuza-san pushed his way through, and found himself here in Japan. I followed, but when we tried to get back, the wall was gone and we were met with the side of a mountain.

"We didn't look for another passageway since we were meant to be dead anyways. We explored this place and eventually ended up here. We have settled into a nice lifestyle, and have no reason to hide. We figured when we were ready to return we could search the mountain for a new entrance." Haku concluded his story, and the leaf nin took a moment to process it.

"We have a way back to the hidden countries and a way to keep you hidden until you make it to Mist. Our deal still stands." Makoto spoke seriously.

"How long?" Zabuza asked.

Kei and Makoto knew what he was asking. He wanted to know how long they had until the leaf shinobi would go back to the hidden countries and end their mission outside them. "Currently I am scheduled to attend school for one year. But as everyday passes and we learn more about magic I think I can safely say that I will attend a second. We will travel back every November 1st, the Christmas break, Easter break, and in June for summer."

Zabuza nodded his head. "And you are positive you have a way to sneak us into Mist without detection?"

"Yes."

"Can I see my sword?"

Kei stood slowly, and made his movements more pronounced as to not show any type of threat to the ex nin. He took out his summoning scroll, and with a few handseals, a little blood, and a big cloud of smoke, Taka appeared with a familiar sword strapped to his back. Makoto stood slowly and walked to Taka. He scratched the giant mountain dog behind the ears, and then untied the sword. Once done he carried the large sword over to Zabuza and presented the man with it.

Zabuza took the sword without a word and unwrapped the bandages. He ran his hand gently over the blade and handle, inspecting every inch of the weapon. He gave the huge weapon a few practice swings and then tested it's balance, once satisfied he grinned at the partners "Perfect."

Haku looked at the sword in dismay, "He will be playing with that for the rest of the day now." The younger man whined. Zabuza stopped his actions and glared at the ice user, before grudgingly sitting down and lovingly rewrapping the weapon.

"You two said you needed wands right?" Zabuza asked after he had properly secured the sword.

Kei nodded.

"Can you actually use this magic?" Zabuza stared directly at Kei.

"Yes."

Kei didn't know what was going through the man's mind since he was currently wearing a large devil may care smile. "I got an idea I have been wanting to test and you just happen to have magic, a free arm, and no focus."

Makoto was in front of Kei instantly. "What do you mean?" The older leaf nin demanded.

Zabuza smirked at him. "Wizards need a focus to perform magic. Sometimes they can use magic without one, but those times are rare and far between. That prissy school you are going to thinks that only wands will do, but in other parts of this world, they use different kinds of focuses. Stones, metals, wood, weapons, and animal parts can be crafted into a focus.

"Once a person chooses their type of focus they become dependent on it, and it's hard for them to switch. So if a wizard had a wand, learned with a wand, and bonded with one, it would be near impossible for them to switch to using a tanto as a focus for example." Zabuza explained.

"So why do you need my arm?" Kei asked.

"I had thought that if one tattooed the focus into their arm and used that, then that wouldn't run the risk of losing their focus. Unless their arm is chopped off of course. Kei hasn't bonded to a focus, and I would like to test this theory on him."

Makoto didn't move from his position in between Kei and Zabuza as he stared at the man.

"We have gone through all the math and theory for the project to ensure it's safe, and tried testing it on ourselves, but without magic we can't be sure it works." Haku spoke up.

Kei stared at the teen before he nodded his head. "I will try it, but in exchange for being your test subject I don't have to pay and Makoto and I get to pick a weapon from your showcase for free."

Haku stared right back at Kei. "The tattoo and one weapon each for free, but you have to leave Zabuza-san's sword here and when we return to the hidden countries you two allow us the use of Taka to travel to Mist."

"The sword is expected to be Konoha so it can't stay here for now, but when you go back we will hand it over in Mist. You can use Taka, but you have to keep the henge up on him yourself, and we get to test some of that clothing you have here." Kei negotiated.

Haku took a moment. "Your terms are fair and we agree only if you and Makoto buy us dinner tonight and share some of your more fun mission stories."

"Makoto?" Kei turned to his partner for the final call.

"I think that's fair." Makoto said with a nod.

"Good now let's deface chibi's skin." Zabuza said with an enthusiastic tone as he started walking towards another door. Kei warily unwrapped the bandages from his arm, exposing the scarred and burnt skin underneath. At Zabuza's questioning look, Kei shrugged his shoulders and simply stated 'Family Jutsu', moving events along.

An hour later Kei cringed as he stared at his left arm. The area had been cleaned, shaved, and cut into by Zabuza. The man had Kei pick any focus he wanted, and as Kei walked through the various items, he was drawn towards the white plum blossoms that were soaking in a silvery liquid. Zabuza had grabbed a handful and told Kei to sit down and place his arm on a table.

Once Kei was situated Zabuza had thrown the petal blossoms on his arm and whichever ones stayed on his skin, Zabuza left. Afterwards Zabuza had very meticulously tattooed the petals into his arm, using chakra to help the flowers sink in better and heal a bit. When he finished, Kei's left arm had flower petals from his elbow up into his palm.

"Haku, can you come heal him up a bit before we test it?" Zabuza asked as he started packing his tools away. Kei kept his arm completely still as he watched the older teen approach him. When Haku channelled healing chakra into his hands, Kei didn't flinch or even acknowledge the other boy, as he stared straight ahead blocking out the painful throb coming from his arm. When Haku was finished, Zabuza grinned.

"Okay now let's test this."

Kei stared at him. "How?"

Zabuza frowned. "You know just wave your arm or something."

Kei raised his left hand up in front of him, and then moved his entire arm in a sweeping motion above his head. Nothing happened. Zabuza's frown deepened.

"Try pushing magic through your arm."

Kei stared at him dumbly. "How?"

"I don't know brat, I don't have magic!" Zabuza growled.

Kei sighed, before closing his eyes. Thinking for a bit Kei had an idea. Opening his eyes, Kei raised his hand once more and with a large exaggerated sweeping motion, Kei yelled "Magic Arm Activate!" And ended in a victory pose. Nothing happened.

"What the fuck was that chibi?" Zabuza yelled.

Kei frowned. "That's what they do in all those anime's to get their powers to work." The smallest shinobi shook his arm twice before giving it a few light slaps, trying to prompt it to work.

Zabuza looked ready to yell at the smallest shinobi when Makoto stepped in. "Kei, why don't you just concentrate on having your magic work and flick your wrist."

Kei nodded, and turned away from Zabuza. Concentrating on pushing magic to his arm, Kei flicked his wrist and watched as each of the blossoms in his arm lit up, as silver sparks poured out of his finger tips.

"Yes!" Kei and Zabuza cheered simultaneously.

"Yes, it's all good and everything but what will we do when Kei's arm lights up every time he performs a spell, plus he was supposed to have a wand." Makoto pointed out.

Zabuza stopped his self-congratulations and grinned at Makoto. "Simple, I already thought of that. Now that Kei has bonded with the blossom tattoo, he can use a fake wand and just channel to magic through that to perform spells, giving the appearance of having a wand focus. Then we just re-bandage his arm and keep it covered."

"That could work..." Kei trailed off.

Haku stood suddenly with a small exclamation of joy. "Oh we have something upfront that should work perfectly! It will help hide the glowing tattoo's and have the added benefit of hiding Kei's weapons." the effeminate boy assured.

Kei and Makoto gave Hake a considering look, before following the ex hunter nin to the front. The time to plays with toys had finally come.

o.O.o

Kei stared at the ceiling of the train compartment and sighed. They had barely finished dinner with Zabuza and Haku when Bones appeared and whisked them off to England. She dropped them in Diagon Alley with her niece- after she took them to Gringotts and showed Kei his trust vault- and then promptly left. Susan had taken them shopping and gathered everything Kei would need for his first year, and tried to get Makoto into robes, but Makoto refused and safely guarded his tracksuits.

Once they finished Makoto had been shipped off to Hogwarts to start on lesson plans, and coordinating with the Defense professor, while Kei went home with Bones and Susan. He didn't mind at the start, but soon he felt an itch. It wasn't one that he could just scratch and it would leave, but it was an entire body itch.

Kei was starting to feel more paranoid than normal. His back felt empty without Makoto to watch it, his side was lonely without his partners presence, he was getting jumpier at the smallest of noises, and his nose would randomly start sniffing, searching for a familiar Konoha scent. He had never been out of the village on his own. Ever since he was partnered with Makoto he had always been on the outside with the older shinobi, minus those few times with Kakashi and the one time with Akemi. Kei didn't know why but was sleeping less at night without someone there, without Makoto or Kakashi. The absence of his partner had started taking a toll on Kei and he had never realized how dependant he was on Makoto until now. He couldn't even summon Itachi's shirt to himself fbecause Susan was in the room next to his and would hear him. If he had been sent on this mission alone, Kei knew he would have failed it long ago.

Now that he was on the Hogwarts Express, Kei had collapsed his exhausted body onto a bench and stayed there. He had locked the door, closed the curtain, and just did nothing. He couldn't sleep, his mind was racing about the consequences of becoming so dependent on his partner. He was also wondering if Makoto was going through the same process, or had the older shinobi already been used to being on his own before they partnered.

The train started moving, and Kei let out a sigh of relief. He was slowly getting closer to Makoto, and hopefully sleep. He would need to talk to his partner about this problem, but sleep was more important. Kei wasn't able to perform at his best in his current state, and while he didn't expect enemies to be jumping out at him, he was still alert and wary.

Someone outside his compartment knocked, paused, jiggled the door handle, and then let out a curse. Kei listened intently as the person outside spoke in a harsh tone, before kicking the door and walking away. Kei pushed the event from his head as he went back to thinking. The second time he was broken from his thoughts was when he heard more than one person stop in front of his compartment door. Kei closed his eyes and listened.

A female voice babbled something in English with a tone that sounded chastising to Kei. A male voice, the one from earlier, said something in reply in a frustrated tone. The female said something else in exasperation, before Kei heard a faint tap against the door, and a click. The door was pushed open and two sets of feet walked in. The lighter feet stopped and a female gasp of surprise was let out. Kei kept his eye closed, feigning sleep, waiting to see what to two would do.

"Oh Blaise, there's someone sleeping here." The female said softly, obviously not wanting to wake Kei up.

"So? Just looks like a first year to me. Let's kick him out, and then Draco can stop pestering us about finding a new compartment. Daphne, you don't honestly want to be the one to tell Draco that he has to stay near Pansy do you? " The boy responded.

"We can't do that! He's looks so tired. Maybe he couldn't sleep last night from nerves." Daphne's voice to seemed to soften even more.

"Muggleborn you reckon?"

"Maybe, I haven't seen him at any parties before."

"Still. Let's wake him, kick him out, and he can find a new compartment with other first years or something." Blaise argued.

"Blaise! Don't be such a jerk. I'm sure we can share the compartment as long as we don't wake him." Daphne explained lightly. Kei heard a rustle of fabric, and then he sensed that the girl sat down on the other bench. "Go get Draco." She commanded.

"This won't end well..."Blaise warned before he left.

The compartment descended into silence. Kei kept his breathing steady and soft, while the girl studied him. After a minute, she sighed. "You are a cute little thing aren't you? I do hope you are a pureblood, or at least halfblood. I would hate to see a cute thing like you get picked on."

The compartment was silent again as the girl seemed done with talking to a sleeping person. The mood was only broken when Blaise and new person entered.

"Honestly, it's about time you got me away from that leech." A very posh sounding voice spoke.

"Shhh!" Daphne quickly silenced the new person. "Draco, he's sleeping."

"You picked a compartment with a sleeping kid in it?" Draco hissed.

"Well I figured we could just kick him out." Blaise spoke up.

Draco sighed. "Blaise you would really just kick this kid out? Even I'm not that cruel, he clearly looks like he needs the sleep. If we were going to kick anyone from their compartment we should choose Weasley. Let's go. I hear his sister is starting this year. Let's go greet them in true Slytherin fashion."

Kei mentally applauded at this Draco characters morals. He seemed like a nice guy, sort of.

Two pairs of footsteps walked from the compartment but one stopped. "Daphne aren't you coming?" Draco asked.

"I want to watch him for a little bit longer." Daphne sighed.

"Daphne!" Draco said with a sharp icy tone.

"Yes, yes I'm coming!" The girl huffed before following the other two from the compartment. Once the door was closed, Kei let out a sigh of relief. The rest of the trip was silent, and uninterrupted.

o.O.o

Kei walked into the Great Hall with the rest of the first years. His eyes quickly sought out Makoto, and when they landed on his tall blue haired partner, Kei felt some of his itch recede. It was relaxing to see his partner sitting at the large table in front, smiling at him, with black smudges under his eyes. He hadn't been alone after all.

Carefully, Kei lined up at the front and stared at the frayed and dirty looking hat on a stool. When the hat's brim opened and words started pouring out, Kei didn't show his shock like the rest of the first years. He calmly listened to the song and quickly deduced where he would be placed. Gryffindor was for the brave and foolish, Ravenclaw for the studious, Slytherin for the cunning and ambitious, and Hufflepuff for the loyal. Any proper shinobi should be able to fit in all four houses, but only a true shinobi would go to the proper house. Shinobi -above all else- should be loyal to their Kage and village.

When Hatake, Kei was called, Kei walked up to the stool, and sat down. When the hat barely touched his head, the brim opened and shouted 'Hufflepuff!' Kei smiled.

Part two of his mission was complete.

* * *

Omake Time! So I figured this would be a little glimpse into what Makoto went through without Kei.

**OMAKE**

Makoto sighed as he aimlessly wandered down a dusty hallway. He had finally had enough of that blonde curly haired idiot he was forced to work with, and had escaped. He sought out the dirtiest part of the castle knowing the flamboyant professor wouldn't follow him here.

Makoto stopped at a rusty suit of armour and frowned. He didn't know why someone would wear heavy metal armour. Sure it could stop senbon, shuriken, and kunai from hitting your skin, but it was so heavy and bulky. You would limit your movement, make enough noise to give away your position, and it just looked uncomfortable.

Makoto peered closer and saw his reflection on the armour. He looked tired. And he was. He missed Kei. It was odd trying to g to sleep without a smaller body trying to steal his warmth or blankets. He was on constant alert for enemies, and frankly none of the professors her were funny or fun to be around.

Sleep was an issue though as Makoto's tired body kept leaning closer and closer to the metal suit. When Makoto noticed his bodies actions he jolted up, smashing his head off the metal breastplate and sending the suit teetering. Makoto watched as the suit leaned to the side and fell, knocking into the armour next to it and sending off a chain reaction. The hallway of suits was filled with loud clanging and crashing noises as every suit tripped and fell into another.

"Peeves!" A loud shrill from McGonagall cut through the chaotic noise of falling metal.

Makoto ran to a window and jumped out, using chakra to keep him to the castle's wall. He needed Kei here soon, before he was caught at the scene of another accident.

* * *

Who saw that Haku Zabuza action coming?

Battle Results: Kei-15, Penal Tea- 7, Tie- 6 ~~~ Manda- 8, Basilisk- 30, Tie- 4

I think this sentence from Crystal M Key best summed up this battle '-Manda's purple (PURPLE!) and the Basilisk is greenish-blue. It's like Arbok vs. Gyarados. Dang, gotta go with Gyarados. The Basilisk wins!' Touché Crystal, touché...

Battle On!

Tsunade vs. Hagrid in a drinking contest

And just... Anko vs Bellatrix

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Stay Classy FFnet stay classy...


	35. Chapter 35

**Disclaimer**: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

**Warnings**: Language, OC'ness, Het, Slash, twists and turns, fluff, abuse to the author, Loss of Kei's cuteness, misunderstandings, and a hint of my real personality sprinkled lightly about.

This chapter is dedicated to **Paradox of Life** who sent me an entire book full of Kei fanart (from New Zealand to Canada), and made this cold and wet dreary day into something amazing. Thank you so much, and I hope that soon I can share these wonderful pictures with the other Newton fans.

Beta: FEARMEfrancis

A/N: Below this there will be several things. 1. The chapter. 2. An answer to a question an irritated reviewer left. 3. A completely true and unexaggerated account as to why this took so long to get out. 4. A sincere and heartfelt piece of gratitude. 4. A battle Royale so intense that the great debate between the chicken or the egg will look like a finger painting on a wall beside the Mona Lisa. (this bit might be exaggerated)

**Spying on Seconds Interlude**

_**Konoha...**_

Iruka flittered around the kitchen, fussing and fixing food. His usual shinobi apparel was covered with a bright orange frilly apron that had been a gift from Naruto. Iruka couldn't help but smile at the thought of the boy. He had taken Naruto in and tried to teach him, tried to help raise him into a respectable shinobi, and while some areas lacked, overall he was proud of Naruto. Recently the boy had been training extra hard with a new drive, and while Iruka didn't know the cause he did support the action, so he prepared an Extra Special Power Boosting Breakfast. Okay, it was a normal breakfast but it was extra large, and Iruka had given it a fancy title.

Iruka turned his thoughts elsewhere when Naruto entered the kitchen, still pulling his t-shirt over his head.

"Morning, Naruto."

"Morning, Iruka-nii!" The Genin greeted happily before he fell into a contemplative silence.

"What's wrong, Naruto?" Iruka asked as he placed the final additions on the breakfast.

"I'm worried, Iruka-nii." Naruto admitted.

"About?"

"Kakashi-sensei."

Iruka tensed a little at the mention of that white-haired male. He had never really grown any like towards him, and had fiercely protested when Naruto was placed on his team. His cries had been ignored, but that didn't stop him from warning Naruto of the man.

"And what is wrong with Hatake-san?" Iruka prompted.

"His brother is gone. He seems lost without him. Just kinda mopes around the training fields, doesn't have as much energy in him anymore. Bit sad to watch really." Naruto stated, idly playing with his food, eyes staring off to the corner.

Iruka froze. The smallest Hatake was dead? That wasn't possible. If the youngest Hatake had died they would have held a memorial at least. He would have heard unless... Hatake Kei was an ANBU. When ANBU died it was really the saddest of all. They were heroes even among other shinobi, doing the worst of all missions, protecting from the behind the curtain, and always hidden. When an ANBU died they faded into nothing. They were not remembered, they weren't given any awards for service, and no one would think of them in gratitude as no one would know what they had done. To Iruka it had always seemed like a bitter existence. You would work hard and give your all to the village only to die and never be appreciated. While a shinobi shouldn't do his duties for gratitude and praise, it was a natural human expectation to wait for even a little bit of praise. Parents praise their children, teachers their students, and leaders their masses. Maybe Iruka could feel a little sympathy for Hatake, Kakashi.

"Oh... when did that happen?" Iruka asked.

"A bit ago Kei-sensei had come back from a mission and had told Kakashi-sensei something that made him faint. We didn't really see him after that, but when we did was sad and miserable. When I asked if Kei-sensei would help train us again, he only said Kei was gone, and walked away. I haven't seen Kei or Makoto-sensei since."

Iruka couldn't imagine how hard it must be for Kakashi to wake everyday when his little brother was dead. He saw how much Kakashi cared for his little brother every time they were spotted together. Looking at Naruto, he knew that he would be a wreck if the small blonde died, especially if he couldn't talk about it because Naruto had gone and joined the ANBU. Who was there to comfort Kakashi? Who was there to help Kakashi through this difficult time?

"Maybe we should get him some flowers." Iruka suggested.

Naruto looked at him and gave him a weird look before it turned into a smile. "That's a great idea Iruka-nii. Flowers always make people happy."

Iruka nodded, and finally sat down to eat, thinking about maybe approaching the Hokage and asking her if it would be alright to give Kakashi a few days off to mourn.

o.O.o

Tsunade was sitting in her office, flicking paper balls across to room, idly wondering when she could sneak out and escape from this paperwork-filled dungeon, when a shiver went down her spine. The Hokage sat up at alert, and cast suspicious eyes about the room. Tsunade placed her hand down on her desk ready to stand and search the surrounding area when she felt a slight vibration run down her chest. Sticking her hand down the front of her shirt, she pulled out the necklace from Bones.

Holding it lightly, Tsunade listened to the report Makoto left. It seems that Kei had been sorted without a hitch, and that their mission was running smoothly. Tsunade gave a sigh of gratitude at this since she didn't need any more troubles landing rudely on her desk.

Looking out her window, the Hokage saw a curious sight. Iruka was walking around with a bunch of flowers, looking quite determined and solemn. She didn't know why he would look like that. No one had died recently, and she didn't think it was an anniversary for something. She also didn't think he had a girlfriend he needed to apologize to and Naruto certainly wasn't a kid who would demand flowers from their guardian.

Deciding to ignore Iruka, Tsunade looked back at the mounting paperwork. She vaguely recalled Sarutobi recommending Kei and Makoto to help her sort, but they were away, and when she tried getting a Genin team to help they only fooled around and set her back a few days. She had punished them with several unpaid D-rank missions, and vowed never to let another Genin squad help.

Looking at the paper again Tsunade let out a frustrated growl and smashed her fist into the hard wood. The wood splintered under her strength, scattering the paper, ink and brushes around. Tsunade let out another frustrated grunt and kicked the closest scroll, watching it fly across the room into the wall, leaving dents as it fell to the ground. Kami-sama, some days she hated herself for taking this job.

Tsunade gathered herself and tried to revert back to her more composed self when a single scroll caught her attention. It was a report about Sakura. The psych evaluation was complete, and while the medics were concerned they didn't see the need to retire Sakura from service. They suggested some time spent to help the young kunoichi to overcome her depression and obsession with the youngest Uchiha traitor, but once she was mentally better, they stated that they thought she would make a fine kunoichi.

Tsunade decided to trust them, and after a few meetings, numerous attempts at smuggling Sake, Tsunade had set Sakura up with the help she would need. She would work with a specialized psychologist three times a week to overcome her issues, and when the psychologist saw fit, Sakura would return to shinobi training. Until then, she was put on the injury list, and taken off active duty. Her place on her team was filled by a rotation system by other genins.

It had been a few weeks, and her reports said that Sakura was steadily improving. There was always a chance for a relapse but isolating Sakura from Naruto, her team, and anything that might remind her strongly of Sasuke, was a wise choice. While Sakura was improving, Tsunade was still debating on what to do with her. Sakura would never be the best fighter, and Tsunade was hesitant to push the pinkette towards medicine since she had never expressed an interest in the field. Tsunade had considered making the pinkette a teacher at the academy or maybe sitting her in records? Only time would tell when the ex fangirl showed interest in one specific non-male centric area.

o.O.o

Sakura happily finished off the homework her psychologist had given her. She was supposed to make a list of things that she liked about herself, things she thought made her unique, and things she thought she was good at. At first, she thought it would be easy but then she discovered how hard the activity really was. Many times, she wanted to list things that she realized she only liked because others had liked them or because she was given them. Her hair ribbon was given to her from someone else, her long hair was grown for Sasuke, her clothing choice was to accentuate her body for Sasuke, her hobbies we aimed at pleasing Sasuke. It was the first time she actually took a moment to step back and re-evaluate her life.

She thought that her past choices were fine at the time, but now seeing them listed on that innocent little paper, it changed from being a piece of white paper and into a little white flag. She conceded defeat. She had mentally fought against all the tests and opinions thrown at her because of her actions of late, but now she saw what they saw. It wasn't east as her inner Sakura was screaming and fighting tooth and nail the entire time in her head, trying to convince herself that she really did like those things. She needed a change. She didn't want to be that obsessed girl that everyone made fun of. She wanted to be her own person, and now that Sasuke was dead she had that chance to break away from her past and start again. She could be serious about something that wouldn't betray the village and leave her.

So, with a new resolve and an iron muzzle and cage around inner Sakura, Sakura had started a new list. A list of things that she liked before her crush on Sasuke developed. She spent the entire night before and the early hours of the morning following, thinking and finishing her list. Now looking at the ink-stained page, full of words, and various lines scratching out others, she smiled. One word stuck out from the rest, it was bolded and underlined, written bigger than the other words on the sheet. 'Strong'. She had a strong personality but she wanted to be strong elsewhere too- body, mind, and soul. Now was her chance.

Standing, Sakura walked over to her mirror and stared herself in the eye. "I, Haruno, Sakura will become strong. I will work hard, and one day I will be a kunoichi that is proud of herself. This I promise." The pink-haired girl repeated that mantra aloud to herself several times, ensuring that it would stick.

That done, Sakura felt a new sense of purpose settle over herself, and it felt great. She knew she wasn't better yet, that she would sometimes revert back to that girl that craved the attention of Sasuke, her determination would waver and she would probably sink into some desolate hole. She just hoped she hadn't burned all her bridges and that at some point when she needed them, her team would be willing to pull her out.

o.O.o

Sai shushed the Genin trying to get his attention as he read the latest Shogi Master book. This time Satoshi had travelled for an International Shogi tournament, but while on the way, he was kidnapped and was being threatened against winning. Sai didn't want to put it down, as Satoshi showed great resolve and courage. The Genin attempted to get his attention again, but Sai brushed him off.

"Sai-san! We have to complete this mission." The Genin whined.

"Go yourself." Sai stated, not breaking his focus on the book.

"But you're part of the team, you have to be there." The Genin exasperatedly explained.

"it's only a shopping trip, I don't think I need to hold your hand." Sai muttered.

Sai perked up when the leader of the bandits arrived to torture Satoshi personally. Sai also frowned when the bad guys got into long speeches. He didn't see the point. If you were going to kill someone you should just go and kill them. Keeping them alive so you could talk just led to escaped prisoners and the downfall of the bad guys. Sai never understood why they did that. When he was on a mission with Kei and Makoto they went in, killed, and left. Talking wasn't needed.

Thinking of Kei and Makoto, Sai deeply missed them. He had been stuck with Genin teams, and it was boring and tedious. They were the same risk free mission, well not completely risk free, but considering how badly trained the opponents were lately they might as well have been, and he missed the excitement of a good mission.

"Sai-san..."

"I'm coming." Sai responded, saddened that he wouldn't get to finish his chapter this time. Sai stood and started following the Genin when he heard flapping. Looking up he saw a crow. This wasn't good. "Actually I need to go use the facilities. I will catch up soon." Sai stated and gave the Genin a fake smile. The boy shuddered at the sight but left quickly.

Sai held out an arm and let the crow land, slowly removing the small scroll attached around its neck. He should probably bring this to the Hokage.

o.O.o

_**Elsewhere...**_

Sasuke breathed heavily as he took another hard blow. Orochimaru was training him personally, and he didn't hold back on the pain. Sasuke rolled to avoid another strike, and quickly jumped to his feet. He sprang to the side, and avoided a creepy tongue to the face. Panting heavily, Sasuke rushed forward, and drew his katana, thrusting it towards Orochimaru's heart. The snake sennin merely chuckled, and then disappeared in a cloud of mist, leaving nothing there. Another sick chuckle came from behind him, and Sasuke whipped around to see Orochimaru looming over him.

"Ah Sasuke... you were so close, yet so far." The sickly man stepped closer. Sasuke could smell the man's slightly rancid breath as it tickled his face. "More work, but you are improving my little protégé."

Sasuke stiffly nodded and stepped back. "I will go study the scrolls you leant me master." Sasuke intoned.

Orochimaru chuckled at some joke inside his own mind and sent Sasuke away.

Once safely back in his own room, Sasuke collapsed on the bed. He had been on edge all day since he had sent that crow. It was just a report on several places Orochimaru planned to go, people he would meet, and some of the plans Sasuke had discovered. He had used a special code taught to him long ago by Yuki, well Kei, and he placed an intense amount of faith in that little crow.

"Oh Kami-sama Kei... I hope you get that information, and that you're well." Sasuke whispered to the room.

Rolling over he grabbed a scroll and opened it. He mentally cringed as he read the contents of another one of Orochimaru's many cruel and disgusting experiments. The man was sick and he hoped that one day he would be the one to kill him. He desperately wanted to be the one to kill him, return to Konoha, and see Kei's smiling face again. Just a little bit longer...

o.O.o

Itachi neatly rolled up the scroll in front of him and hid it. It was part of his next report for Konoha, and this time it was centered entirely on one person. Tobi. Itachi wasn't worried that it would be found, since if it was no one could read it. He had written in a special code that he made up long ago and only showed to one person. Kei.

"All done writing now?" Kisame asked as he leaned against the door of their shared room.

"Yes." Was the simple response.

"What are you always writing about anyways?" The shark demon asked in a rough demanding tone.

"A love story."

"Ha!" Kisame let out a booming sharp laugh. "What do you know about love?"

"Not a lot, which is why I have yet to reach the climax of the story."

"There's no room for love in this world. Kill, or be killed, and just fuck anything that walks in between. That's what you should write about." Kisame stated seriously.

"But no one reads those. I want this story to be told to everyone." Itachi responded.

"Don't live in fantasy Itachi. We have a job to do, and a role to play. You're little book deal can wait."

"I know what we have to do. I know my mission and I plan to complete it, no worries." Itachi reassured his partner. "There's nothing that can stop me from succeeding." Itachi whispered to himself.

* * *

Omake Time! I thought of this late last night while I was slipping off into sleep. Just a small continuation from before.

**OMAKE**

Kakashi blinked. Then blinked again. "Iruka-san... why are you giving me flowers?"

"Well I..." Iruka hesitated trying to think of the right words to convey his message.

"I'm sorry Iruka-san, but I cannot return your feelings." Kakashi told the Chuunin.

"What? That's not what this means!" Iruka tried to deny.

"While you are a very nice person, you are just not my type. I like one's with-"

"I'm not confessing!"

"-so big you can just squish your face between them and –"

"Kakashi that's inappropriate! Don't say those type of things in public!"

"-nice. I don't know how but their hair always smells so nice. Then they have-"

"Would you shut up and listen to me!" Iruka demanded.

"-plus I don't think Kei is ready for another brother. He's fragile and adding another male to the house might upset him-"

"What?" Iruka screamed in his demon level voice. Kei was alive?

"Huh?" Kakashi blinked. "Well you have to understand Kei's point of view. He has grown up with a certain four men in his life, adding another, especially in that type of relationship might upset him. And I don't want that type of influence around. I have a hard enough time fending off the girl admirers, no need to open the door for boys. Not that I have anything against men like you, but think of Kei." Kakashi patted Iruka on the head at the end of his explanation and left.

Iruka stared at the flowers in his hand, and then threw them at the ground. "I hate Hatake, Kakashi." He stated, vowing to forever loathe the white-haired man.

"And I'm not like that!" Iruka yelled after the man.

* * *

**A/N1**: Someone asked why these type of stories are mainly male centric and lack female characters. Well I don't know if they meant just HP/Naruto, Fanfiction, or any crossover story, but I will focus on HP/Naruto. When I write I gather inspiration from the fiction I am ripping off. In Harry Potter it is mainly male centric. Sure Hermione is there, popping up and dragging the boys about, chewing their ear off, and generally consuming all the knowledge she can, but she's still only a third of the main focus. What other female do we get to look to? Ginny...McGonagall... Petunia? How big was their presence in the series...not very big. In Naruto there's Sakura, Ino, and HInata but are they really the type of females you want to use to set as a bar for the rest? Tsunade? She kicks ass and all but she's not always present like the rookie nine. It's hard to write decent female characters when you don't have much to go off of from the works your take inspiration from. While some can do this and do a wonderful job, others fall short, and instead of pushing myself to write more females that I don't think will play well, I rather write a decent chapter with more male presence. Because Quality over Quantity and all that jazz.

**A/N2**: Why did it take so long to write this? Well in all truth because I can't lie to my laptop, It wasn't due to illness, hospital visit, my laptop going funky or anything serious like that. No, it was something different. I was on an adventure. An adventure where I tackled all challenges head on. Where I could taunt my opponents, get my swagger on, and generally spark interest in anyone I came across. Sure it wasn't all fun with waterguns, and dancing a petal dance, but it was intense, liberating, and wonderful. I was playing pokemon on my DS. Since I last posted I looked over to my DSi, and said "Hey little buddy... you look a little lonely over there." And my DS, that I lovingly named 'Sir Night the Mythical Knight', gave a small sigh and thin layer of dust that settled on top shook and fell. I took Sir Night into my hands and apologized sincerely, and all Sir Night could do was stare at my sadly. So I opened the drawer that holds my games and there on top, with big pouty watery eyes was Pokemon Diamond. I caved and since then I was travelling around, beating trainers, Kicking Gym Leaders ass, and generally training up my pokemon so I could beat Cynthia that first time, because dammit she always gets me with earthquake right away and it's frustrating! So yeah... my completely true and real excuse... I'm an adult I swear! I can vote and drink in any country and stuff. Don't hold this against me!

**A/N3**: So I don't know how many of you noticed but I reached 2000 reviews. 2000! When I first started this I was hoping for at least 10. So Thank you. Thank you to everyone who as reviewed. Thanks to everyone who said they have loved this, who have pointed out mistakes, have asked questions, just generally made me smile and my day brighter, and even to you flamers. Yes you flamers! I know you're still sticking around... it's cool I don't hold it against you. Also apologies to anyone who lost sleep because they stayed up late to read this. Okay I'm done now...Thank You!

**BATTLE ROYALE!**

Last chapters results. Hagrid-11, Tsunade-51, Tie-5 ~~~ Bellatrix-16, Anko-47, Tie- 6. Someone said that Hagrid and Tsunade would run out of alcohol before a winner was decided... I believe them.

Now...

Battle of Politics! Lucius Malfoy vs. Danzo.

Battle of Plant knowledge! Neville vs. Ino


	36. Chapter 36

**Disclaimer**: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

**Warnings**: _Language, OC'ness, Het, Slash, twists and turns, fluff, smut, and abuse to the author, Loss of Kei's cuteness._

_Beta: FEARMEfrancis_

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Slyther88 for the new piece of Kei fanart. Link on my profile. Thanks Slyther! And a special mention to Blade Of Shadows that has uploaded a Gallery of Newton Fanart. So check that out on their deviantArt pages!

"_I am Japanese_!" –Talking in Japanese

"That is not Japanese..."- Talking in English

**Class Act Confusion**

Makoto smirked to himself as he opened his suite door to reveal a disgruntled looking Kei. The younger shinobi looked absolutely miserable as he flapped his arms like a bird to show off the excessive cloth that came with the Wizarding robes.

"_Dresses... I'm always stuck wearing dresses_." Kei pouted.

"_But they fit you so well_." Makoto teased as he stepped aside to let his partner in.

"_I think we should talk about something else._" Kei suggested while he continued to pout. It was adorable and at the same time scary. A highly skilled killer that could lure anyone in with that childish pout and have him or her dead within seconds. Makoto loved being Kei's partner.

"_I guess_." Makoto agreed as he made sure the area around his rooms were secure, and closed the door. "_It doesn't look like you slept well lately."_

Kei gave a long drawn out sigh. "_I couldn't sleep without smelling something familiar. Your scent and Nii-san's scent was completely absent and made me anxious. If this was a solo mission, I don't think I would be able to complete it._" Kei admitted. He knew that his partner would pick up on the underlying fear.

"_Mmm... without your presence I was on constant alert for attack. Our deep connection is a double edged sword_."

"_I can't sneak into your room every night. The probability of getting caught increases each time_."

"_I know, but the knowledge that you are in the same building should be fine. For you, since you can't summon your ninken in the castle, I can give you a shirt."_ Makoto offered.

"_Even though we don't have to kill anyone or fight, this is becoming my most hated mission_." Kei stated. It was honestly taking a toll on Kei. Being away for so long and in such a foreign area was playing on Kei's nerves. He hated not being able to understand everything he heard or read, not being able to use his shinobi skills in public, and most of being away from his Nii-san for so long. While gaining knowledge that could give Konoha an edge over everyone else was great, Kei would die in a year or two and he didn't want to waste it here in Hogwarts.

"_Mine too... but with that we should get back to work_." Makoto brought the conversation back to focus. "_I placed several native Konoha herbs and flowers around the school to help you navigate to classes and the important places I have picked out. There is one in the Great hall that I am sure you have scented out by now, there's one near the Headmasters office, the main classrooms, and several notable places to train and the library_. "

"_How does the library look_?" Kei asked.

"_Informed. I have the night patrol schedule, and the library is practically a dead zone."_ Makoto explained. The blue haired shinobi walked over to an oak desk sitting against the wall, and opened a drawer to retrieve a blue and brown scroll. "_This is everything I have gathered about Hogwarts, the professors, and other staff._"

Kei lightly grabbed the scroll and flicked it open. He scanned the information and memorized as much as he could at his fast-paced reading. The Transfiguration teacher was a demon cat, the Defense teacher was an idiotic dog, the Potions Professor was more bitter than coffee, and several other professors seemed to possess bug or animal like qualities. Kei wondered what type of people wizards were if these were what was teaching the youth. Closing the scroll neatly, Kei stored the scroll away among the useless fabric making up his robe, wondering if the danger factor of the mission should go up. "_Library_?"

"_Soon... but first I found a room I think you might like_."

Kei perked up in curiosity, "_Oh_?"

Makoto smiled and led the way out. They didn't need to travel far, two hallways down and a flight of stairs, before they arrived at a dusty alcove. Makoto opened the door slowly and with a flourish he gestured for Kei to enter first. Kei didn't hesitate to walk into the room. The torches around the room lit up and revealed a long room full of weapon filled wall displays- blades of every size and shape, arrows of varying design, and whips, chains, and spikes. "_Oh... oh my..."_

"_Beautiful isn't it_?"

"_They look dusty...are the wizards just letting them sit here all alone and unused_?" Kei ran one finger down the nearest sword. It was broader than the standard katana. The hilt was thick and had several imbedded jewels. Kei couldn't see the practical use of them, but decoration wise they were pretty.

"_As far as I can tell no one had been here in a long while. I figured that since we won't have ease of access to the weapons and supplies we are used to most of the time, that we can substitute some of these_."

"_If no one uses them...do you think they will notice them missing_?" Kei asked.

"_Mmm...I think we can find more practical uses for them besides dust catchers_."

"_The library can wait. We have some inventory to take._" Kei smirked as he happily skipped down the aisle grabbing two daggers and hiding them away on his person. Wizards never knew what they were missing.

o.O.o

Kei cuddled further into his sheets, and his nose into Makoto's shirt, when he heard his dorm mates moving about. He listened as the blonde one that slept furthest from Kei shuffled his feet across the floor and into the bathroom. The one that looked slightly like a monkey with his brown hair and over average ear size, talked to himself as he worked his way through his morning routine. The blonde one came out of the bathroom and paused before his feet started shuffling over to monkey boy.

"Should we wake him?" Blonde asked.

"Christopher... He looks so tired. Do you think he had trouble sleeping last night?" Monkey asked. "My older brother warned me about home sickness. First time away from home and everything can cause nightmares and stuff."

"but...he still needs to go to class." Christopher pointed out.

Kei decided to save the boys any more trouble. Rolling over, Kei stretched out and let out a sleepy yawn. He sat up slowly and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Kei didn't exaggerate but kept the routine simple and natural. Kei opened his eyes to see that two boys watching him curiously.

"Mor-Morn-ing." Kei said in heavily accented and broken English.

"Ah... Morning." Christopher replied.

"Good Morning!" Monkey happily sang, but in a slower than normal tone.

"Breakfast is soon. Um... get ready fast?" Christopher stated simply and slowly so Kei could understand. Kei found it amusing and sweet that the boy was worried Kei wouldn't understand.

"Hai hai!" Kei replied as he jumped out of bed, quickly hiding the extra shirt, and grabbed his clothes. Kei dressed rapidly adding a few stumbles and tumbles into the routine, and then finished with a triumphant pose proudly displaying his achievement at successfully putting on the elaborate wizards robes. The other two boys had amused looks on their faces and Monkey even gave Kei a soft applause at the performance, crumpled robes, and crooked hair ribbon.

"Kei Hatake." The little shinobi said pointing to himself as an introduction.

Monkey perked up, "Louis Pucey."

"Christopher Scott."

Kei nodded at that pair. "Breakfast?"

Louis started bouncing on the balls of his feet. "My brother says that food a Hogwarts is some of the best. I have been looking forward to it since Adrian started. They have huge feasts, and hidden passageways, and he said that seeing a real quidditch game is amazing! I hope to be a chaser just like my brother!" The boy rambled out quickly.

Christopher took one look at utterly bemused expression on face of the small undercover shinobi and burst into laughter. "Louis! You need to talk slower." Louis looked embarrassed as he realised his mistake. His face flushed and the boy started taking a great interest in the bed spread.

"Food?" Kei prompted to get them going again.

"Right! Food! We can explore some too." Louis cheered, and walked towards the door. Kei followed, covertly eyeing the door, and making sure Louis went through first and Christopher last. He would never get over his aversion to doors, no matter how many he had to walk through on missions. If Kakashi said they were evil, than they were- no questions asked. But he would find another way to avoid these doors.

o.O.o

Makoto absently smiled at the blonde idiot sitting beside him. He didn't know what he did to deserve to be stuck working with a total moron, but he smiled and just went along with it, suffering silently, and mentally counting down the seconds until he could slit his throat and watch the blood slowly seep out and run across the ground. Oh the dreams the blue haired shinobi had...his fingertips tingled and his hands felt warmer as if the blood was already there.

"-well then I had no choice but to graciously accept the villagers gratitude, money, and Christian the statue they built of me. Sometimes it's hard being a hero, but you know when danger calls, you just have to respond." Lockhart boasted.

"Chris...Christian?" Makoto said after repeating the only word he cared to hear. It gave the appearance that he was listening, but at the same time it would make Lockhart think he couldn't understand and hopefully give up talking to him. It hadn't worked yet but Makoto was always hopeful.

"Ah, yes, sometimes I forget that you came here from a less educated area. It means I allowed them to build a memorial in my honour. No worries, I am sure that a year here and you will be conversing with the best of us. Of course, when you do return home be sure to take a few of my books, and for your little help this year I may even give you a few autographs to take back with you. I am nothing if not giving. Witch Weekly even wrote an article about how I should permanently change my middle name to 'Charity'. Of course, I could not do that, it would not quite fit in with Gilderoy or Lockhart, and a name has to have a ring to it. You know I once met a-"

"Oh would you shut up you blithering fool." An acerbic voice cut through Lockharts monologue.

Makoto looked around the blonde idiot to the dour potions professor and gave the man a small friendly wave. Snape shot him a sharp glare, but the jackal shinobi smiled wider and turned his attention back to his toast and eggs.

"Idiots... completely surrounded by idiots." Snape muttered. Lockhart seemed to have missed it as he was still ruffled like an agitated peacock but Makoto caught it.

Makoto's eyes darted to the door when he sensed his partner coming. His eyes held a hint of amusement when the doors opened to show Kei and two other boys. One boy with brown hair was pointing at the doors and enouncing slowly "Door-way.."

"Doorway." Kei responded.

The boy pointed to the nearest table and said in tone like he was trying to teach a puppy "Table..."

"Louis, I think he knows what a table is." A blonde boy interrupted.

"I just want him to be able to understand the world we live in." Louis argued.

"I don't know how pointing out every tiny little thing and naming it is helping him understand our world. Plus I think they have tables in Japan."

"They do but their really low and close to the ground. The height could be confusing him." Louis pointed out logically.

"A table is a table and he ate at one last night."

"Table..." Kei said.

Louis seemed to perk up. "See Kei knows I only have good intentions! Now let's eat."

Makoto smirked to himself. Kei seemed to be fitting in just well.

Down at the Hufflepuff table, Kei was still repeating everything word Louis tried to teach him. He already knew them, but for Louis' sake he was acting ignorant. It was also slightly entertaining watching the other boy dance around trying to teach Kei everything that he could find. The items in the sixth year bathroom were slightly embarrassing for all three boys, but once one the older Hufflepuffs caught them, they ran away- stopping any further new discoveries. Kei still couldn't figure out why there were so many bottles of lotion hidden around the room.

"These are scrambled eggs, and this is bacon, and this is toast, and this is-"

"Louis!" Christopher cut the other boy off. "How about you spend less time talking about the food and more time eating? We do start classes today."

"Mr. Scott is correct." A cheery voice said from behind. The three boys turned to see a sweet looking plump woman standing there with a stack of paper. "Now dearies, these are your schedules, and I am your Head of House Professor Sprout."

The boys each took their own schedules and thanked the woman. The cheery woman smiled at them heartily and walked away to finish her rounds. Once she was out of earshot Louis started to slightly bounce in his seat. "Don't worry Kei, we have the same schedule so I can help lead you to every class." Kei gave the boy a few confused blinks before a slow nod.

Christopher gave a huge exasperated sigh. "Slow, talk slow."

"Uhh... right. Well we have potions first, that should be fun." Louis responded in a slower pace.

Kei smiled and nodded at them- amused at their interaction.

o.O.o

Kei pretended to jump with the rest of the class when a bitter and greasy looking man loudly announced his entrance by slamming the door open. The Potions Professor, Severus Snape as was written in the board, stalked across the room, sneering at every single student in the room separately, as if he was trying to ensure that everyone felt his negative emotions deep in their souls. Kei stared back at him, and acted scared but he was secretly giggling at the man's act. Kei could see past the general loathing in the professor's eyes and see the weariness that hid.

"I will tell you now that I will not put up with any of your childish antics, tantrums, pranks or emotions. In this classroom, you will be serious and respect the fine art of Potion making. You will follow all rules, and heed every caution I tell you. Of course I can say this and hope that you will listen, but since this is only a room full of dunderheads like last year, I am wasting my breath."

Kei thought that was a bit harsh.

Snape looked around the room before he settled on Kei. "Ah yes... the transfer student. As if the teachers did not have a hard enough time trying to hammer knowledge into the empty boxes of the British students mind, they bring in a language challenged brat."

Kei didn't respond just stared at the man. When it looked like Snape was waiting for a response, Kei smiled at him. "Nice to meet you." Kei said, speaking slowly to make his accent more pronounced.

"Just as I thought... Mr. Hatake while I seriously doubt you understand a single word I am speaking at you, I will like to inform you that even if you are from a foreign country you need to adhere to the Hogwarts dress code. That...feminine ribbon in your hair is not prohibited." The dour man slowly stalked across the room. Kei didn't respond. The pale professor gracefully lifted his hand and untied the ribbon, holding it lightly so it slipped through his fingers as if to mock the little shinobi.

Kei gave the man a bemused look, and then pretended to frantically scramble for the ribbon. He let out a desperate squeal and fell off his stool, curling into a ball and hiding from the view of the rest of the students. When Kei looked up, he was desperately clutching the ribbon in his closed fists. Snape smirked down at him, but Kei's bangs fell to the side slightly, exposing his scar and mutilated eye. Luckily for Kei, the potions master only saw the scarred section that once contained a matching unique green orb. Snape gave a small and barely audible gasp of surprise.

The eyelid was only slightly scarred over, and he could see a bit of milky white and pale green peeking through. The thick ribbon like scar still didn't look new, and Snape felt a slight pang in his heart at past hurt. He looked away quickly. "You can keep the ribbon. Now hurry up and retake your seat there will be no slacking in this class." The dour man didn't spare another glance at the foreign kid as he walked away- old memories crawling their way to the forefront of his mind.

Kei retied his ribbon, and returned to his stool, glad that the table blocked anyone besides the professor from seeing his face. Letting his hair move had been a risk, but he was willing to bet that his bigger injury would distract the man. A small scar didn't compare to the large spectacle that was his cut up eye.

"Now then..." Professor Snape cleared his throat, using it as a method to regain his composure from such a grotesque sight. "We will be starting with a Boil Cure Potion today." No one moved. "Well get to work!" the man snapped at them. Suddenly stools were scrapping and dozens of nervous feet were scurrying over to the supply cabinet.

Kei just followed Louis and grabbed everything the other boy did. When they returned to work table, Kei copied everything Christopher did to set up his cauldron and fire. He started his fire, placed the cauldron, and poured in the base liquid. He wasn't sure how much so he filled it half way, and moved onto step one. Reading English was still a small struggle for Kei but he did understand snake fangs. The young ninja grabbed the snake fangs and dumped them into the cauldron. He frowned when he noticed his fangs weren't melting like Louis' did. Hoping to speed up the process, Kei pushed some chakra into the cauldron to heat up the liquid faster. Suddenly his cauldron was bubbling, and Kei smiled. Well that was easy.

From the corner of his eye, Kei saw Louis reaching for his slugs, so Kei grabbed his and threw them in. The little shinobi picked up the stir rod and quickly mixed the cauldron around. The bubbling intensified, and Kei's gut told him that wasn't a good thing. When the liquid volume got higher and higher the white haired shinobi knew something bad was about to happen, "Ano..."

"Get down!" Professor Snape yelled as he watched Kei's cauldron. In a heartbeat, the entire class dropped and hid under their tables. The room was silent for a moment before a loud explosion rocked the ground and walls. When majority of the smoke cleared, heads started appearing over the table edges. Professor Snape stood up fuming, and stalked towards Kei's smouldering workstation.

"Never... Never in all my years has a student managed to destroy a cauldron within five minutes and I had Neville Longbottom last year!" The barely restrained anger was heavily present in the dour man's voice. "Out... Get out!" He screamed.

Kei felt that any sympathy he had gained from his eye was now gone. Kei scrambled from under the table and ran out of the room. No pretend confusion was necessary. The flaring nostrils and deadly glare was the same in every language. Kei was in trouble. Well damn...that was a bad first class.

o.O.o

Makoto sighed when he felt the ground under his feet vibrate only moments after he sensed Kei's chakra flare. Something happened, and he didn't need superior shinobi knowledge to know that Kei was in the middle of some unfortunate accident, and it wasn't even lunch yet. Deciding to ignore it for now, Makoto returned to the group of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw fourth years in front of him.

"Today...we run." Makoto said to them in simple English.

"Run?" A Gryffindor snorted.

"Yes... Now run." Makoto commanded. The group of students stood in place staring at him blankly. Deciding they needed a little help, Makoto took out several rubber balls and threw them at the human statues. The area filled with yelps and screams of pain when students got hit, but the taller shinobi got his point across. The Students shed their outer robes and took off at a sprint to run laps around the Black Lake.

"20 laps!" Makoto yelled after them, pulling out more rubber balls for the students who looked like they would be trouble. Makoto kind of liked this teaching job.

o.O.o

Lunch at the Hufflepuff table was lively as everyone spent time catching up and talking about the first classes. The sixth year girls were blushing as the giggled about Professor Lockhart, while the boys were nursing bruises from Professor Shindo. The first years were chatting excitedly about Kei's rather colourful first potions class, and the seventh years were moaning about the workload McGonagall had dumped on them. The second years were debating on when Sprout would introduce more dangerous plants, and the third years were still yawning from Binn's class.

Slowly all the groups quieted down at a rare sight. A lone Slytherin was walking the length of their table, and not dropping rude remarks. Adrian Pucey ignored all the stares he gathered not only from the dumbfounded Hufflepuffs but from his own house. When he reached his destination, he sighed as he watched his little brother laugh in such an open and honest way.

"Louis..." he spoke evenly.

Kei watched as the older student spoke with Louis. He wasn't sure about the relationship between he brothers, but he did know that Louis worshipped his older brother.

"Adrian!"

"Louis, did you remember to write home to mother and father? I am sure they are anxious to hear about your sorting." Adrian stated. Kei noticed that Adrian spoke in a more refined tone than his brother. But going off the house differences that could be because Adrian needed to work harder to be accepted in his own house.

"Um...I'll get right on that!" Louis dug into his messenger bag and pulled out some spare parchment a quill and some ink.

Adrian rolled his eyes slightly before he leaned down and whispered. It was quiet enough that only Louis should be able to hear, but Kei was there. "I'm proud of you no matter what my body language or actions suggest. I love you little brother." Adrian squeezed Louis' shoulder before he straightened up. "Now just remember that and don't embarrass the House of Pucey more than you already have."

"Yes Adrian." Louis said in a monotone voice, like all the happiness the boy usually possessed had been taken away.

Nodding Adrian turned and walked away. As he got further away his presence seemed to have the opposite effect as it did before. The Hufflepuffs started talking louder and louder. A few even came over and tried to comfort Louis from his evil brother, but Louis would only smile and wave them off. Kei was intrigued. It seemed that Makoto and him weren't the only ones having to act the whole year. Kei's opinion of wizards was constantly changing.

Kei looked towards the Head table and was amused to see Makoto looking helpless as Professor Snape ranted and raged about something. Kei's money was that Snape was talking about him. Kei would ask about it later, leaving his partner to suffer alone, Kei returned to his meal as Christopher talked about their next class, Defense Against the Dark Arts.

o.O.o

Kei listened as the group around in talked over each other. Christopher, Louis, and Kei returned to the common room after dinner when Susan appeared and dragged them all over to a group of couches full of second years. She had introduced Kei, and then prompted the other two to say their names. Once everyone was named, the second years jumped at the chance to educate the poor first years all about Hogwarts.

They learned about all the teachers, and even the secret entryway to the kitchen located beside the Hufflepuff entrance. Apparently, it was like a rite of passage that the Hufflepuffs needed to discover how to enter the kitchens on their own. The older students liked to watch as they tried various methods and words to gain entrance. Louis had been excited at the news and wanted to try it right away, but Christopher told him no, and that they needed to start their homework.

That led to one Zacharias Smith speaking up, and immediately taking charge of the situation. He ordered everyone to gather their homework and settle down. Once that was down they had descended into a bout of silence. It didn't last long as soon Louis got restless. The younger Pucey started fidgeting and looking around. He was twirling his quill around and sending splatters of ink onto Hannah Abbott's work but the girl ignored it, and merely wrote 'DRAFT' on the top of her work. Kei watched the boy as his actions built up and up. Finally he seemed to break and Louis let out a long drawn out sigh."This is so boring!"

Unfortunately, Louis quill went flying with is exclamation and sailed across the room. The group of second and first years watched as the innocent and still dripping quill landed on top of an older students head. The ink stained sandy brown haired head turned slowly, and two grey eyes landed on the group.

Justin, the quiet boy of the group spoke for the first time and summed up the situation quite well. "Well...damn..."

* * *

Piggyback on the Kitchen idea...

**OMAKE**

Zacharias Smith stared at the fruit painting. It was an old foe. Every night since he came to Hogwarts he stood in front of this door, attempting to gain access to the room behind. He had tried everything he could think of- numerous passwords, searching for a secret switch, walking by and suddenly trying to scare the painting. He even took out a wizard's dictionary and spent five nights reading out every word in it. But nothing worked!

After the first month he thought the older students were playing games with the first years, but then one night he saw a seventh year leaving from behind the picture, and his faith was restored! If they could figure it out so could Zach!

Behind the painting, an army of house elves sat around watching as the young Hufflepuff valiantly tried again to gain access. House elves generally don't get a lot of entertainment in their line of work, but for the Hogwarts house elves, every night they were guaranteed a show.

The little Hufflepuff gave a sigh, and then raised a hand to run his fingers lightly over the fruit. As they neared the pear, the elves held their breath, wondering if he would finally figure it out. But just before Smith touched the pear, he laughed and dropped his hand. "Yeah like that will work..." Giving up for the night the Hufflepuff turned and entered his common room.

With collective sigh of disbelief, the elves sat back and laughed. So close yet still so far away for that one.

* * *

Thank you to everyone who forgave me for playing pokemon! Some even shared my pain...

Okay! Battle results.

Battle 1: Lucius- 24, Danzo- 45, Tie- 7

Battle 2: Neville- 65, Ino-2, Tie 7... I don't think a Naruto character has ever been so utterly crushed by a HP character...

BATTLE ROYALE!

Battle 1: Who is the wiser old man? Dumbledore vs. Third Hokage

Battle 2: Who is more shy? Neville vs. Hinata. (wonder if Neville can keep his winning streak...)


	37. Chapter 37

Disclaimer: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

Warnings: _Language, OC'ness, Het, Slash, twists and turns, fluff, smut, and abuse to the author, Loss of Kei's cuteness._

_**Beta**__: FEARMEfrancis_

_A/N: this chapter is dedicated to DustBunnyQueen for the hilarious review. You can never go wrong with a Princess Bride reference._

**Seconds Demand**

The one thing Kei really hated about Hogwarts were the ghosts. He couldn't smell them, and they didn't make much noise besides a small wind like sound; but it was almost nonexistent. It made sneaking around the castle all the more frustrating when you couldn't predict what was behind the next corner. Kei was glad he was quicker than normal because of the numerous times he had to dash back behind a corner to avoid one of those apparitions. Currently Kei was hidden behind a suit of armour waiting for two ghosts who were having a very in depth conversation about whether or not Peeves was behind the recent string of pranks affecting the Ravenclaws. There were two suspects for the crimes. The Friar was firmly in the belief that it was a pair of Gryffindors, and the Sir Nick was protesting, denying this his little lions would do such a thing. Kei didn't care either way but he wanted them to go away so he could sneak into the library.

"I saw them put something in that one Slytherin's bag and next thing I knew there were sparks flying everywhere!" the Friar declared heatedly.

"He could have been slipping a note in the bag and the sparks were a coincidence. My lions would never do anything that dangerous. Peeves is still upset from being denied from the Opening Feast, and this is his way of showing it." The nearly headless ghost stated with a scoff.

"I'm just saying that those twins have always been a trouble making duo since they arrived, and you overlook it because you are so fond of your own house." The Friar threw up his arms in protest.

"They're sweet boys-"

"No, they're mischievous little miscreants! I'm done with this." The Friar finally seemed to be doing something Kei approved of as he moved away. The other ghost seemed to be stubborn, and started following the Friar, continuing the argument as they floated down the hallway and out of sight. Finally allowed to move, Kei snuck across the wide hallway and into the library.

When the heavy oak doors closed behind him, and Kei was enveloped in darkness he let out a sigh of relief. He could see everything perfectly but it was nice to just be alone. He was constantly surrounded by his peers and it was starting to get to him when he was used to only Makoto, Sai, and Kakashi.

"Kei." A soft whisper sounded from the shelves.

"Koto." Kei responded. Kei flittered through the rows of books, and met Makoto in the warding section. "_How's it going_?" Kei asked in Japanese.

"_Good, but some of these wards are brutal, even for a shinobi_." Makoto showed Kei a page with a picture of a man being torn apart and strung up on a blue dome with hundreds of tiny flaming spikes sticking out of him.

"_Well...I wouldn't turn that ward down in case of another invasion_." Kei threw out.

"_Yes, any edge is a good edge, no matter the gore_." Makoto flipped through a few more pages, making notes on some paper he had at hand.

Kei nodded, and picked up a different book. He settled down on the floor and got comfortable, ready for a nice long night studying. "_You know even if we learn all the wards there's no guarantee that I can cast them._" Kei pointed out.

"_True, you did hardly manage to make your feather float today_." Makoto teased.

"_It floated just fine! I thought I did a fine job for my first spell_." Kei argued.

"_Yes it floated just fine after you burned off majority of the plumage and threw it into the air_." Makoto couldn't the smile off his face at the announcement. Flitwick had been most flustered after class when he entered the staff room and babbled about the incident. "_Kei...are you sure you can do this? You blew up a cauldron in potions, burned a feather to a crisp, and destroyed three of Sprouts plants. Your record isn't in your favour right now_."

"_I know... but I am trying_." Kei sighed.

"_Kei, is this mission worth it_?" Makoto asked seriously, closing his book and regarding his partner fully.

Kei needed a moment to fully think of the question. He knew where Makoto was coming from, and it was a serious issue. "_It's only the first week. If I can't improve with this whole magic thing by the time we go for the Tea mission, than we can talk to the Hokage about pulling out_." Kei promised.

"_I think that would be the best course. I know you want to leave something behind to protect Konoha, but we can't waste an entire year here on a small chance that you might get enough control to erect a ward_."

"_I know Makoto. Everything we do is for Konoha, and if I can't manage to get a handle on this, than we are better off at home_." Kei said sadly. He didn't want to fail a mission, but he knew that he would have to suck up his pride if it came to backing out.

"_There's still two months. That's plenty of time to learn_." Makoto reassured as he returned to his book. "_We have accomplished greater things in two months than learning to make feathers float. Like stopping invasions and intercepting stolen Konoha secrets_."

Kei just smiled at his partner and reached for a new book- as he pulled the slightly dusty book from the shelf a bolt of pain raced down his left arm, causing his him to drop the tome. Kei hissed out a bit of breath as he used his right hand to massage the affected area. Kei sent a glare at the offending limb for good measure.

"_Kei are you okay_?" Makoto asked worriedly.

"_Fine, fine. It's just sometimes I get this shot of pain, but it leaves quickly_." Kei explained. He gave his arm a small shake, and was happy that it seemed to be in perfectly good working order once more.

"_When did this start_?"

Kei took a moment to think. "J_ust after the focus tattoo. I think the magic is reacting differently to the black jutsu's affects_."

"_Is it speeding up the effects_?"

"_I_ _don't know. I will have Rikoto check it out when we get home_." Kei reassured his partner.

"_Kei._.."

"_It's fine Makoto. Let us just keep researching. If this is speeding things along then we need to find appropriate wards faster_."

Makoto nodded solemnly and started reading faster, an edge of desperation was added to his posture.

o.O.o

Sakura straightened her shirt, checked her hair, and wiped her feet before she stepped into the Hokage's office. She wanted something, and she was going to fight for it. She had never asked the Hokage for much in the past, unless you count the begging for Sasuke's life and whatnot, but she didn't in this moment. She had never asked the Hokage for something reasonable. So this was her opportunity to talk to the Hokage with a clear mind, and no hysterics. She would present her case, answer or respond to any questions and concerns the woman might have, and hopefully walk out successful. She had spent the entire night before going over her speech, picking out the appropriate outfit, and just generally firing herself up for this. It was important to her and hopefully the Hokage would understand.

"Hokage-sama." Sakura started.

"No." Tsunade spoke up quickly and decisively.

"What? But I didn't say anything yet." The pink girl instantly protested. This wasn't going according to plan!

"When a shinobi walks in that door and starts with 'Hokage-sama' first it means they want something. It's a reflex to just say no." Tsunade explained not even looking up from her paperwork.

"Aren't you going to at least listen to me first?" Sakura asked.

"Are you going to ask for something?" The Hokage asked.

"Yes."

"Then no." Tsunade shut it down immediately.

Sakura felt her face flush with anger. "I just want to go on a mission." She stated boldly.

Tsunade finally spared her a glance. "If you want a mission then go to the mission office and get a D-rank mission like everyone else."

"I don't want a D-rank mission. I am going to start apprenticing at the academy full time soon, and I want to be able to properly prepare the students for shinobi life, and in order to do that I would like to experience an A-rank mission. I know it's not procedure to send such a low ranked kunoichi on the high ranked missions but I want to be able to know I did something important with my ninja career, and have that pride so I can pass it on to the students." Sakura took a deep breath as she finished speaking, glad to get that out.

Tsunade eyed her carefully. "You want to go on a mission that has a high rate of death just so you can feel good about yourself when you teach?"

Sakura flushed some more at that. They way the Hokage described her desire seemed childish, but to her it wasn't. She needed this experience so she could understand what she was prepping these children for. Making them think that missions were all fun and games would get them killed. The academy children needed to know the full weight of their decision to become a shinobi, and the only way Sakura saw herself properly preparing them for that was to experience it herself. "I just don't want to send them to their death because they thought missions were supposed to be fun. " Sakura said softly, slightly remorseful that her new job entitled her to train little soldiers. She wondered if she would have become a kunoichi if a teacher told her the real dangers and horrors of the world outside the academy walls.

"You do not need to feel like that. You are not sending them to their death that is my job. You train them the best you can, and I put them on a path to death. You can plant a flower, but you cannot control who picks it. Now I will grant your request, but on a few conditions." Tsunade spoke seriously, her voice steady; not showing any inner turmoil to admitting that she sent her people to their death daily.

"Of course Hokage-sama." Sakura was feeling range of emotions of having her request granted. She was happy she was being allowed this experience, terrified that she would be going on such a high ranking mission, nervous about who she would work with, and determined to perform to the best of her abilities and make it back alive so she can have a hand in Konoha's future protection.

"First, you will not go on this mission for a while yet. The team I am willing to trust with you is currently away on a long-term mission. When they take a break from their mission, I will send you out with them, but it won't be for awhile." Tsunade explained.

Sakura nodded her head, agreeing to the condition, even if she knew she didn't have a choice. It didn't matter if she did since the decision was clearly in her favour.

"Second, you will listen to them. You will not argue or try to take control. This team has been together for years, and they are a perfect working team. They have experience in these types of missions, and you will survive longer by being quiet and doing what they say."

"Yes Hokage-sama." Sakura said gravely.

"And third... Naruto will go along as well." Tsunade finished.

"What? Naruto? Are you sure Hokage-sama. I mean yes he has been more serious as of late, but I don't think Naruto is mentally prepared for something this ... important." Sakura argued.

Tsunade shot her a shrewd look, her eyes narrow and piercing. "I personally believe that Naruto is more suited for an A-rank mission as this time than you are. If you don't think you can deal with Naruto, than I will forget your request and still send him."

Sakura's mouth shut with a click. She shouldn't fight with the Hokage, but she felt something deep within her rear up and protest that Naruto was better than she was. Sure she went a tad bit crazy after Sasuke, but she had improved. She didn't know what Naruto was doing besides training and eating ramen. How was the Hokage supposed to properly compare them when Sakura knew she matured far more quickly than Naruto. But, she wouldn't fight. She stomped the beast down, tried to control her emotions, and just accepted all Lady Tsunade's conditions. "Yes, Hokage-sama. Thank you for this opportunity." She said instead.

Tsunade studied her carefully before she nodded her head. "Good. Now get out, I have work to do." Sakura bowed her head in respect and turned towards the door. "Oh and the mission probably won't be til December, hope you don't mind the wait!" The Hokage threw in.

Sakura sighed, but kept going. It's not like she would be able to convince the Hokage to move the date up, they were waiting for a certain team to come back from a long mission. She may not be leaving the office in a good mood, but at least she accomplished something.

o.O.o

Kei was casually walking down the hallway, trying to find an opening to escape Louis' constant chatter, so he would give his nose a break. He didn't mind his two roommates, in fact they were quite entertaining to watch, but all the new scents that attacked his nose in crowded places gave him a headache.

"Oh that poor girl." Chris spoke up. Kei's eyes followed his until he saw a blonde first year girl, slowly picking up the contents of her spilled bag.

"Should we help her?" Louis asked, his head tilted to the side as he studied the girl. "Isn't she in one of our classes?"

"Lovegood right? She's that weird girl in Potions with us." Chris informed them.

Kei just looked at them both with a bemused expression.

"Well Kei wouldn't remember he never spent much time in potions. But yeah, she is. She likes to sit at the back and hum all the time." Louis added.

As they talked another girl came along. She was taller than Lovegood, and Kei both, with long fiery red hair and millions of freckles. The girl quickly got down on her hands and knees and started helping the blonde Ravenclaw gather her things, at a much quicker pace than the owner. "Honestly Luna..." She scolded as she shoved items into the blonde girls bag.

"Isn't that Ginny Weasley? She's in our Herbology and Defense classes." Louis whispered.

"It is. "

"She doesn't look happy helping her friend." Kei spoke. Louis snorted at that.

The sound seemed to have drawn Weasley's attention on to them. Her brown eyes narrowed in anger as she stood quickly and stalked over to them. She made sure to breach their personal space and as she leaned in close and snarled. "You think it's funny picking on others do ya? Finding someone smaller than you and watching them suffer!" The red headed girl pulled her wand from her pocket and shoved it into Louis' face.

"No no, not at all." Louis protested. He held his hands up in the signature 'I give' pose. "I was laughing at a joke Kei told, and really...Kei is the smallest in the year. If I were going to pick on someone for their size he would be number one." Louis hastily rushed out.

Weasley turned her vicious glare onto the Kei who was standing innocently by. When the heated stare landed on him, Kei gave a small smile and wave. That seemed to only anger the girl more. "All you boys stick together anyways. I bet you were the ones who spilled Luna's bag."

"Her bag was spilled before we arrived. We were discussing helping her when you showed up and then proceeded to threaten us with your wand. You didn't properly observe the situation, and jumped to conclusions with your temper. I think it would be best if you put away your wand and allowed us to move on." Christopher said in a stern tone.

Weasley scoffed, and started inching closer to Christopher in a threatening way. Not liking where this was going, Kei stepped between them and lightly plucked Weasley's wand from her hand. The shocked expression that followed, gave Kei an opening. He slipped the wand into her pocket, and stepped away, giving himself room to grab the other two boys arms and drag them away. He didn't think it was worth getting into a fight with a girl who had such a short temper, because it could only lead to detention for all of them.

The red headed girl was left spluttering while the Hufflepuffs walked away. The small group of students that formed around them, parted for Kei as they watched in silence. From the corner of his eye Kei spotted a pair of red headed twins watching him with blank looks. The small shinobi wasn't sure what that meant, but he would venture to stay away from them if they were related to the girl they just left. He knew how protective his own older brother was, so Kei wasn't willing to test the protective instinct of other people's older brothers.

As they left the hostile situation, Louis seemed to some back to himself, "That was awesome Kei! You just took her wand right out of her hand and she couldn't do anything about it. It was like you are some tiny little ninja that can sneak into anywhere and steal anything!" the youngest Pucey happily bounced around as he talked quickly in his excitement.

"Louis stop that!" Chris lightly snapped. "You're talking too fast again, and how do you know what a ninja is? I thought purebloods turned their nose at anything muggle."

"Well we do, but Adrian snuck me out to Muggle London once and we went to a bookstore that had an entire section with ninja's and samurai's. It was totally awesome! Adrian bought me several books but I kept them well hidden." Louis bragged.

Chris rubbed him temples in a soothing manner. "Louis...Ninja's aren't real." The blonde boy stated.

Kei raised a single eyebrow, but kept his mouth shut.

"Of course they aren't! But it was be so awesome if Kei was one. Kei, do you think you could teach us to be ninja's?" Louis gave Kei a big pouting look.

"Um..." Kei needed something to distract the other boy. "Ninja's know how to be quiet."

Christopher gave a small chuckle at that and gave Louis a challenging look. "Can you go five minutes without making a noise?" The monkey boy nodded his head fiercely, and promptly shut his mouth with a look of pure determination. "Ahh, silence..." Christopher said with a satisfied sigh.

Kei smiled as well. Without the constant loud babbling from the other boy his headache was receding quickly. Maybe teaching Louis to be a ninja wouldn't be a bad idea. After all, his quality of living in the dorm room might go up.

The trio continued to walk when Kei felt the familiar spike of chakra from a nearby classroom. Looking at his two companions, he was glad to note neither were paying attention to him. Louis was staring at the ground as if it would help his mouth stay shut, and Christopher had taken a book from his bag and was walking and reading at the same time. Taking his chance, Kei casually slowed his steps, and left the duo, managing to slip into the classroom without them noticing. Closing the door softly, Kei turned and gave his partner an inquiring look.

Makoto had one hip leaning against a desk, and a stack of papers in his hand. He had a satisfied smirk on his face as he spoke,"_I think I may have found a way to help with your casting issue_."

"_Oh?" _Kei shuffled forward and jumped onto a desk to get comfortable.

"_I talked to Flitwick about your problem, and he thought that maybe it was a problem with understand magic in general. He suggested reading up on magical theory and meditating to help you connect to your magical core more. After class I took a look at some books about magical theory and I copied the parts I think would be most useful to you._" Said Makoto as he handed the stack of paper over.

Kei read the first page carefully and happy to see that Makoto had organized the entire stack and created a table of contents for him, and saw that Makoto had gone a step further and numbered each page and added a corresponding colour. Based off the weight of the stack, the size of Makoto's writing, and foreign words, Kei was positive he could make his way through it in two nights. "_Thank you Makoto._" Kei sincerely whispered.

Makoto shrugged his shoulders. "_I don't want to fail a mission either, and I think it would be one of the best moments in my life when we set up these protections_."

Kei slipped the paper into his bag, and jumped off the desk. Winking at his partner Kei casually walked up the wall and to the window. "Well I have class soon, better get there before I'm late." Kei walked out the window and to the left, making sure no one looked up and spotted him.

Makoto stuck his head out the window and chuckled. "Kei your class is the other way. Do I need to put herbs on the outside of the building as well?" he teased.

Kei didn't bother responding as he turned around and ran across the castle's wall. He hated this not being allowed to be late thing. It seriously messed with The Hatake Rules.

When Makoto left the classroom, and was whistling. He walked past a tapestry and smirked, pretending to be minding his own business. When he was out of the line of sight, he slipped behind an open door and watched as two red heads poked out from the tapestry. Looking around the two ginger twins snuck to the classroom he just left and looked inside.

"Blimey Fred where did that little kid go?" one of the twins asked his brother.

"I don't know! We saw him enter George but he's gone. It's not like he can walk through walls or anything right?" The other twin asked.

Makoto smiled and walked away. He would be sure to tell Kei he had two stalkers later, but for now there was a class of seventh years waiting for him to come and torture them.

* * *

So I really wanted to watch Mulan and this came to me. Yes I know Mulan is Chinese, and Naruto is Japanese, but I don't care. I wanted to write this. Mulan is that shit!

**OMAKE**

Louis Pucey was determined to become a ninja. It was like destiny when Kei Hatake arrived fresh from Japan and was in his dorm. Safe with the knowledge that Kei could teach him his ninja ways, Louis sat crossed legged in front of the white haired Hufflepuff with a very serious expression. "I am yours to teach sensei." He said with his most serious voice.

Kei tilted his head before taking a large breath. "You need to become a man."

"A man? Like go through that special man ceremony with a woman like my brother told me?" Louis asked. He could see that. Ninja's needed to be strong and confident, and according to Adrian once you have sex with a woman you gain more confidence. Of course, Louis had been forbidden from such actions until Adrian had graduated from Hogwarts.

"No. Just lots of training." Kei said simply.

"What kind of training?" Louis didn't think you needed to train to have sex. At least Adrian said he would just know what to do when the time came. So maybe Kei was thinking about a different path to becoming a man.

"First thing you need to know is how to be as swift as a coursing river. Be a man with all the force of a great typhoon. Be a man with all the strength of a raging fire, mysterious as the dark side of the moon." Kei instructed.

Louis nodded his head along even though he didn't get it. "So I need tackle people quickly with a roar, then run so they don't know it's me?" That is what he got from the explanation.

Kei threw a rock at him and shook his head. "Ninja get into places quickly and silently. They can fight several men twice their size, and never be seen. Don't worry before we're through, somehow I'll make a man out of you." Kei reassured the taller boy. Louis started bouncing glad that Kei was such a great friend to help Louis realize his dream.

* * *

I got a twitter! Well my beta made me make it, but it's still there and you can go check it out for little notices about chapters, ask me questions, see what I babble about during everyday life. It's BaroMonkeys.

The votes are in and...

Battle One: Third- 60, Dumbles- 14, Tie- 8

Battle Two: Hinata- 52, Neville- 18, Tie- 12

**BATTLE ROYALE!**

Battle 1: Who has the bigger smile? Gai vs Lockhart

Battle 2: Which is the scarier forest? Forest of Death vs Forbidden Forest


	38. Chapter 38

**Disclaimer**: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

**Warnings**: _Language, OC'ness, Het, Slash, twists and turns, fluff, smut, and abuse to the author, Loss of Kei's cuteness._

_**Beta:**__ FEARMEfrancis_

**Supreme Socializing**

The first event of three, that had Kei actually thinking of the Wizarding more than a mission, involved Ginny Weasley. The red headed girl was in a few of Kei's classes and in class and around friends she was a lively girl that liked to talk and gossip. She sometimes brought up 'The Great Harry Potter', and then her and few girls from her house would descend into giggling followed by a long conversation that revolved around comparing the boys in class to 'The Great Harry Potter'. Usually it left the males agitated and carrying around a sense of lacking. Kei didn't care much for her because of that, and since they never talked Kei only had that to base his opinion around. Anytime they had to pick partners for class the girl was adamant about pairing with a fellow lion and just seemed to ignore the yellow and black sporting students in the room.

Over all, his impression wasn't a good one. It was one thing to show house pride but another to completely ignore another house because you feel superior. Kei didn't think one house was better than another. But when she did seem to realize the badger house existed it was to appear suddenly and look down upon Hufflepuff's with pitying condensing eyes.

One instance was during the first years first flying lesson. Kei had lined up with Louis and Chris beside their brooms, and listened as Madam Hooch explained everything. Kei was excited about learning to fly, Louis wouldn't stop bouncing, Christopher was busy kicking the broom with his shoe wondering if the ancient broom would turn to dust while Kei tried to comfort him by saying that the teacher wouldn't let anything happen to him.

"Now I want everyone to throw one leg over the broom and straddle it." Hooch barked out. 40 first years mounted their broom at various speeds and states of enthusiasm. "Now we're going to kick off lightly and hover a bit. Then lean back and touch back down. On my whistle!"

Hooch blew the sharp shrill whistle and together the first years kicked off. Kei rejoiced in being off the ground without chakra. It was a new and exciting experience, and he desperately hoped they could get to actually flying around today. But if they didn't he could always just break into the broom shed and take one for a ride anyways. After all, Hatake's do what they want, where they want, when they want. But not now since he was under cover.

"Alright now touch back down." Hooch called. Kei leaned back slightly and was glad that the broom listened to his body signals and floated down. When his feet touched the dirt, Kei jumped off and raced towards Louis and Christopher.

"That was brilliant!" Kei cheered, smiley widely.

Louis grinned. "Wait til you can zip around in the clouds. It's amazing!" the boy responded.

"Yes, but hopefully on a better broom. I don't think I trust these ones to last long in the air."

"Brooms are a lot more sturdy that you think." A female voice spoke up from behind Kei. The small shinobi turned and wasn't surprised to see Ginny standing there, it seemed like it was her missions to appear behind Kei's shoulder in a creepy way. "I know you 'Puffs are a little more faint at heart-" She chose to stare straight at Kei, which he didn't think was very nice, " but there's nothing to worry about. I fly all the time at home on brooms older than these ones." She tried to console them.

"It's not a surprise that the Weasley's can only afford second hand brooms that are only good for dust collecting and tinder." A boy from Slytherin added. His voice conveyed fake sympathy.

"Oh shut up Montague!" Ginny snapped. "What did you come over here for? Going to try and pick on some Hufflepuffs or just to be a royal pain in my-"

"Miss Weasley!" Madam Hooch scolded as she cut in. "I will not allow that type of language in my class. I want you all to separate so we can carry on with the lesson."

Weasley stomped off after sending a weird look at Kei, while Montague smirked after her. "The lions are always the most fun. Now I know you are only Puffs, but try to keep better company." Montague warned as he walked off.

Louis instantly puffed up. "I hate when they do that. Talk like we are some poor injured kitten that needs protecting from the world. I would take loyalty over bravery any day." The boy ranted.

"Tsk. Just ignore it. I rather be pitied by them than in the line of fire. I saw a pair of twins actually charm a Slytherin's trousers to fall down every time he walked through a door. His pants were on display and everything since they charmed the robe to always stay open."

Louis grimaced. "That's terrible. The poor student must have been mortified. A small prank between friends is all in good humour, but to humiliate a person on that scale is downright malicious."

"People should be more respectful towards others." Christopher nodded.

Kei couldn't help but smile. While they were young and still quite childish themselves, Kei was glad he was around such kind-hearted people. Louis and Christopher although from different backgrounds were very nice people, and Kei only wished them the best with the rest of their lives. It was sad to know that their personalities were so rare though. Well rare to Kei since shinobi didn't try to complete missions with words alone.

"My brothers only aim to entertain. You shouldn't be speaking bad about them!" Ginny hissed from behind them. It seemed the girl snuck up again and was hovering quite close. It was unsettling her need to be near them as of late.

Chris let out a long sigh. "We were only saying that the prank was in bad taste and cruel. Showing respect to other houses wouldn't be a bad thing, and should be encouraged. Frankly, I think they should have gotten worse than two nights detention. The complete humiliation placed upon that Slytherin deserves more retribution." Chris spoke up.

Kei had learned that Chris was a half-blood and his parents were both lawyers. His mother worked for the Ministry of Magic, while his father was a major partner in a large muggle law firm. Together they had instilled a strong sense of justice in their son.

"It was only for a laugh. Besides that Slytherin deserved it." Ginny protested.

"I highly doubt he did something that warranted an attack of that scale. If there was a problem then I'm sure talking to a professor could have resolved that issue in a more civilized way." Chris argued.

"I think Mr. Scott has made a valid point Miss. Weasley and had nicely ended this conversation. Now let's drop this matter and get back to flying shall we?" Hooch asked from the front of the line. She was glaring at the group, but it was softened when she looked at Chris.

The Slytherins were looking at the Hufflepuff trio with a slight bit of surprise and suspicion, the Ravencalws looked on with respect, and the Gryffindors weren't looking at all- deciding not to defend their housemate in any way. That was the day that the Slytherins started treating the Hufflepuffs a bit nicer. It wasn't very noticeable but their insults were toned down, and body slams lacked their usual strength. It was a difference all started because one little badger stood up to a lion.

The second event was when Kei met Oliver Wood. Kei had detention with Snape and the older boy had stopped by to ask the potions master a question. Snape had told the boy to wait in the classroom as he fetched a certain book that could explain the complicated potion more in depth. Wood had agreed and sat down to wait. However, as soon as Snape left the room Wood turned to Kei and started talking.

"So whatcha do to get detention?" he asked curiously.

Kei let a blush stain his cheeks, and he looked down at the floor as to appear embarrassed. "I blew up a cauldron." He answered.

"Really? Usually Snape lets the first two cauldrons go free." Wood laughed a little and scratched his head.

"Well I blew up 10." Kei threw out.

"10! But... how many potion practical's have you had?" The lion leaned back slightly in shock.

"Um..." This a time Kei really was embarrassed. "10?"

The older boy sighed and looked concerned. "Is it that you don't understand the instructions and mix ingredients up? Or is someone purposely sabotaging your work?"

"I don't think anyone is sabotaging it..." Kei trailed off. He knew no one was because he would have seen it if they did. Plus the cauldron usually blew up before anyone had to chance to think about ruining his work. Kei didn't think Wood would react well if he said that just by pouring the potion base in, the cauldron met an untimely death.

"Then the instructions. You're Japanese right? I'm guessing you haven't studied English long and the English words mixed with Latin words throw you off. Have you tried just getting a Japanese version of the textbook and working from that?"

Kei just stared at the boy. He honestly had not that of that, and by the look of amazement on Snape's face as he stood in the door, neither had he.

"That is an excellent suggestion Mr. Wood. It seems not all Gryffindors are idiots as we are all led to believe." The man spoke up in barbed tone. "Mr. Hatake, you will go to your dorm and grab every textbook you own. I will personally translate them so you can read them more freely. If your performance continues to be this dreadful, than I will have no choice but to ask that you are formally banned from my classroom."

Kei nodded quickly and scrambled to his feet. "Thank you Professor Snape." Kei gave a small bow to the man and made his way to the door.

"Here, I'll help you little guy. It might be a struggle for you to carry all those textbooks." The other boy said as he rose to his feet. Kei was a little stunned. His general impression of Gryffindors was while they were a cheerful bunch, they didn't care much about the Hufflepuff's, but that was mainly based off Weasley and her gaggle of friends. While all the houses usually tended to only stick to their own, the Ravenclaws at least looked out for Hufflepuff a bit more, and the Slytherins tried not to bully them every day. It was a bit annoying when a Slytherin would help a Hufflepuff pick up a book while throwing an insult and a Gryffindor would come barging in thinking they were saving the poor 'Puff. They just weren't an observant bunch.

"Thank you." Kei said softly.

"Right off we go little man." Wood placed a hand on Kei's shoulder and steered him away.

"Be sure to be quick Mr. Wood. Mr Hatake has an unsavoury habit of being late."

Kei grinned up at the older boy without remorse. He got a wink in response and they set off together.

On the walk to and from the Hufflepuff common room, Kei learned a lot about the Keeper. Like the fact that he was a Keeper. Wood took great delight in explaining the game he loved. His voice got louder the more and more excited he got, his hand movements got larger and more pronounced as he described how to properly hold a beaters bat, or to securely tuck a Quaffle under your arm. He even stopped them at one point so he could show Kei how to position his feet for the best take off possible. Kei had enjoyed every minute of it.

When they reached the Hufflepuff dorm, Kei had invited Wood in. The older boy was hesitant and explained that students didn't go into other houses common rooms, and he wouldn't want to offend anyone. Kei had then asked him to wait. The little shinobi had entered the room with lounging 'Puffs, and asked the closest perfect if it would be alright for someone to come in to help him carry his textbooks. That started of wave of silence as the room all heard.

"Someone from another house wants to help you carry your textbooks?" the perfect asked slowly.

"Yes. Oliver Wood suggested translating my books to Japanese, and Professor Snape said he would perform the charm. Wood offered to help bring my books to him." Kei spoke slowly and clearly so everyone would hear.

It was quiet for a beat before various people started talking. "Its Oliver; he would never hurt a first year." "Wood is the nicest of them all." "It seems genuine to me." "Kei could slip through his legs if Wood tried anything." "Should we send him with an escort?"

The matter was solved when a seventh year prefect named Jacoby Ellwood stepped forward. "Kei, do you trust Oliver Wood?" he asked.

Kei nodded his head.

"Then it's fine. He can come in and we'll welcome him." Jacoby stated. The atmosphere changed and soon all the badgers were excitedly talking about how a Gryffindor was entering their dorm for the first time that anyone could remember.

When Oliver Wood entered the space, he gave a sheepish smile to the 'Puffs. He gave a shy wave and a mumbled 'Hi'. When Cedric Diggory stepped forward first and warmly welcomed his Quidditch rival, the house cheered a collective welcome and then returned to what they were doing previous.

Kei dragged the older boy to his room and they grabbed his books. It was another turning point for the badger house. They were warmer towards the seventh year Lion since he seemed to have built a nice friendship with their smallest member. The Slytherin's picked up on it and since he was friends with Kei who was friends with Chris their little first year 'Puff defender, they were a bit kinder to Wood.

It was the Friday before the Halloween when the third event happened, and Kei was by himself in the library. He was still researching wards, but he ran into a problem. While his magic control was getting better and his performance had gone up since he could properly understand the textbooks, that still didn't solve one small little detail. Kei's power. The more powerful wards that Kei and Makoto had found that they would like to construct around Konoha involved a large power source from several witches or wizards casting together. The group would sync their magic and create a solid dome that would protect the area. Their magic needed to be stable, in order to properly set the wards, because if it wasn't than the wards would collapse and the magical backlash could kill. Kei could set up a few smaller wards, but those didn't last long and even if they did last longer than normal they would still disappear when Kei died.

The options Kei had were to wait for himself to grow older so his magical core has more time to develop and strengthen, but that would involve him finding a way to prolong his life. The other option as to trust a few wizards and bring them to Konoha to perform the proper warding for him. While the latter seemed like a more plausible option, it still made Kei uncomfortable. There was a reason the Wizard and Shinobi worlds were separate. The cultures wouldn't mix, and he didn't want to risk a group of wizards coming back and blabbing about a nation of killers, or worse getting killed in the Hidden Countries. That would raise many questions, and Bones would need to approve anytime going through the portal and one person was already too many.

Kei sighed, hoping there was a third option as he tried to reach for another book on wards. It looked bigger and older so hopefully it held some wards that Makoto had not discovered yet. His fingers just brushed the bottom of the book, and Kei lowered his hand. He was considering using chakra to help get the book, but he felt the presence of someone coming up to him. A quick sniff and Kei identified the intruder as the Malfoy boy that had entered his compartment on the train.

"I'll get it for you." He offered. Kei nodded and stepped to the side. Malfoy reached up easily and plucked the book from the shelf. He handed it over casually and Kei was surprised at the boys actions. He had personally witnessed the boy being a bully. But when in private he seemed to have a softer side.

"Thank you." Kei said as he slightly lowered his head.

"Why is a first year looking at warding books to start with? It's a bit advanced for you isn't it?" Malfoy asked. He leaned against a shelf and regarded Kei with a curious look.

"Curiosity is all." Kei answered.

"Still. There's a book on basic wards just behind you. Unless you are a pureblood and had a magical education prior to starting here." Malfoy reasoned.

Kei decided not to answer. It was a tricky territory. If he said that he had indeed had an education prior than Malfoy could ask various questions and catch him in a trap. If he denied it than the older boy would get more suspicious.

"Tsk tsk. It's impolite to not answer when you are asked a question. I thought Japan was a very respectful and polite country." Malfoy taunted.

Kei frowned. "I had an education but I fear to you it would appear... unconventional." Kei said in response.

"Oh? Did your family dabble in the darker arts? Maybe they enjoyed rituals and sacrifices more. I can't see how learning basic magic would be unconventional. Please explain to me." The blonde commanded.

"Ne... I'm afraid that my village ways may confuse you."

"Are you implying that I am dim?" The snake took a threatening step towards Kei.

"No no no." Kei said quickly. "Our culture is different. I do not believe that the English would understand our customs."

"Try explaining it to me the best you can." Kei shifted foot to foot nervously. The blonde was very persistent.

Salvation came in the form of a tall red headed teenager with a prefect badge. He got up from a nearby table with an agitated face and marched towards them. The blonde followed Kei's eye and sneered at the sight.

"Great, a Weasley." He drawled.

"This is a library!" the red head snapped. "This is a sacred area for learning and your loud and pointless conversation is disturbing those who want to study in peace. 10 points from Slytherin and Hufflepuff for disturbing others."

Malfoy scoffed. "Please, we were barely speaking above a whisper, and I was asking about his home country. Is that not learning? I feel like you have interrupted my learning by stomping over here like a baboon."

The red head's face went blotchy as his eyes narrowed to near slits. "That's another 20 points from Slytherin for your disrespect towards a prefect Malfoy. Take your conversation elsewhere."

"Gomen- We're sorry for being a problem." Kei spoke up quickly. "I was trying to learn about wards. Would you happen to know anything about them? As a prefect you must know this library quite well and might be able to help me." Kei said.

Malfoy scoffed at Kei's obvious distraction and manipulation tactics, and scoffed again when it appeared that Weasley had not caught on to them. But the prefect, another Weasley –honestly how many of them were there?- didn't seem to catch it as his face evened out and he stood a bit taller.

"Of course I can help. My brother, William, happens to be a curse breaker for Gringotts and has taught me a few things over the summers he has visited."

Kei smiled. "Onegai- Thank you! My name is Kei Hatake, would you be able to help me?" Kei smiled at the Prefect.

The area around the red heads eyes softened as he looked down at Kei, "Sure, why don't you join me at my table and I can answer some of your questions for a few minutes. Any I don't know I will write in a letter to my brother. My name is Percy Weasley."

Kei eagerly followed the prefect back to his table but paused before sitting to stare at Malfoy who was following them. The blonde merely shrugged his shoulders and gracefully sat in a chair across and down from the prefect. "I am curious as well and would like to know what knowledge this Weasley can impart." He said in way of answer. Percy seemed to have decided to just ignore the blondes presence as he expectantly looked at Kei.

Kei took that as his cue to sit and start. "Do big wards always need teams of people, or is there a way for one person to cast them?" Kei didn't care about secrecy right now. He had to leave to go to Konoha soon and needed a positive report for Tsunade.

Percy looked surprised at the opening question but didn't miss a beat to answer. "Well, a team will get the wards erected faster and they last a long time. But you can use a ward stone. I'm not sure how they work though, so I would need to mail my brother."

Kei perked up. "Would you?" He asked as he leaned forward and gave the prefect his best puppy dog eye.

Percy got slightly flustered. He needed to cough twice to regain his composure. "Oh yes. Of course, I can. I'll just get right to shall I?"

Kei smiled in response. From the corner of his eye, he saw Malfoy giving him a considering look. Kei would deal with the blonde later, but for now he felt like he was starting to actually like a Weasley.

o.O.o

After the Halloween feast, Kei followed his dorm-mates and was greeted by a mass of students. The large group wasn't moving so Louis, getting tired of waiting, barged right into the crowd and started asking questions. Kei and Christopher could only watch as the youngest Pucey managed to gracefully slip between students, and worm his way into the heart of the crowd.

"Ne... if he can move like that I don't need to teach him to be a ninja." Kei piped up.

Chris laughed quietly and slung an arm around Kei's shoulder. "I think Louis wants the ability to disappear more than the ability to walk around people."

"Ninja's don't actually disappear. They blend." Kei explained.

"Then Louis wants to learn to blend. And maybe be able to throw those metal stars things." Kei sighed and shook his head.

"I wouldn't trust him with throwing stars."

"I wouldn't either." Chris agreed solemnly. The pair looked at each other and smiled. "Let's go wait for him in the common room, okay?" Chris suggested.

Kei eagerly nodded, not wanting to stay near the loud group that hurt his ears. It was bad enough having to eat in a large room with all the students three times a day, Kei didn't want to torture his sensitive ears anymore.

They didn't need to wait for long before Louis came running into the room and telling what he found. The school caretakers cat, Mrs Norris, had been found petrified beside a bloody message on a wall. The teachers didn't know what happened but Filch was crying and blaming every student he saw. According to Louis it was a sad sight. Kei was sure he would get more information from Makoto tonight, and he dearly hoped there wouldn't be a bigger issue out of this.

o.O.o

Kei of course was wrong when he met his partner. Makoto had explained how there was a staff meeting and the Headmaster had told him about The Chamber of Secrets. Makoto had then described the rest of the meeting: the fight between McGonagall and Dumbledore over safety precautions, The chilling retelling from Flitwick, and then finally how they broke up the meeting so everyone could leave. But not before Makoto reminded Dumbledore that him and Kei would be leaving for a religious event practiced in their village.

Dumbledore had waved him off, but Snape had surprised him. The dour man had blocked Makoto's exit and inquired after the religious event. Makoto had tried feigning ignorance, but the man persisted until Makoto had respectfully told the man, that they were going to go honour Kei's dead parents on November the 5th. Makoto then took advantage of Snape's momentary shock and slipped out.

They pair discussed the situation and had agreed that they should inform the Hokage. Clearly this attack wouldn't stop at one, and while they knew Tsunade would be hesitant to let them get involved without pay, it would affect their ability to probably research if they were on constant alert for a killer.

o.O.o

When Kei arrived at the clearing to meet Itachi, when an electric shock when through Kei's left hand. The limb instantly went numb afterwards, and Kei started feeling fuzzy and detached. He knew what was happening but he couldn't summon the energy to call out to Makoto.

A rustle of tree leaves was his only warning before Itachi came flying out of the foliage. Kei turned slightly as the numb feeling quickly started spreading. Kei started panicking. Itachi didn't know anything was wrong and Kei couldn't remember how to speak to tell his friend that he couldn't fight! Kei's breathing sped up and he could only watch in detached horror as Itachi sped towards him with a kunai raised.

Kei closed his eye when Itachi was less an inch away, and waited for the hit. There was no pain even though he knew that the kunai had entered his throat. A beat later Kei could feel the sharp sting of the metal his nerves registered the cut. The spike of pain was all his body needed before it started shaking, and the young shinobi was brought to his knees as his eye opened.

Distantly Kei could hear Itachi call his name. From the corner of his eye, he could see the kunai with a drip of blood on the tip. Itachi's feet were coming closer, but everything was a haze to Kei. Another set of feet joined Itachi's, except these ones were shifting nervously. Then Makoto face came into view. Makoto's pretty and mature face with worried eyes. Kei's partner pried Kei's mouth open and forced Rikoto's medicine down. The bluenette covered Kei's mouth and demanded that he swallow. Kei struggled to comply but it wasn't working. Makoto then used his fingers to massage Kei's throat and help the medicine go down.

When the medicine kicked in, Makoto anxiously wrapped his arms around Kei and cradled him. Kei responded but stopped himself as he remembered his throat wound. Getting Makoto's attention he gestured to his throat, scared to talk in case it somehow aggravated the cut. Makoto seeing his plight just shook his head. "It's not that deep, barely half an inch, and it missed the jugular."

"What's going on?" Itachi demanded to know. "Kei should have been able to dodge that, and what did you give him?"

Makoto sighed heavily, and stared the missing nin in the eye. "Kei is dying. Part of the symptoms is seizures, and the medicine helps him recover faster."

Itachi's mouth closed with a snap, and Kei pushed himself out of Makoto's arms slightly. "You didn't need to tell him that." Kei scolded his partner.

"I did."

"Dying?" The slightly high-pitched voice cut through the clearing. Kei's mouth twitched as he wanted to smile at his friend uncharacteristic display.

"An accident a long time ago, and the disease, illness, symptoms, whatever settled in and started before anyone could do something to stop it." Kei explained since Makoto had decided to patch up his neck.

Itachi remained frozen, openly staring at Kei. Kei could understand it was a hard idea to process. You knew your shinobi friends were going to die at some point, but the reality that a disease was going to do them in was a bit new. Kei slowly extracted himself from his partner, and walked over to Itachi. He wrapped his arms around his taller friend and drew him in close. "You don't need to worry about it. I won't die for awhile yet." Kei whispered.

Itachi smiled sadly in response and return the embrace tightly. "No matter how long you have left, the thought of you not being around anymore hurts."

"I'm not just going to fade Itachi." Kei told the older boy. "I'm going to out with a bang. One big killing spree that will take down the Akatsuki, Orochimaru, and especially Tobi." Kei had been itching to kill the masked man since Itachi had discovered his true identity.

"Kill every single one of them?" Itachi asked sceptically.

"Well as many as we can manage." Kei conceded.

"And who is we?"

"Me, Makoto, I have two friends that should be dead that will help...maybe Gaara. His sand could really help. Sasuke if he agrees, and you?"

Itachi let out a watery chuckle. "I see you have been plotting. I will help of course. Just tell me when. But... has Tsunade approved this?" Itachi asked giving Kei a stern look. Itachi knew the Hatake family's regard to rules and informing the Hokage.

"She'll know..." Kei trailed off.

"When?" Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"Um..."

"When we return to Konoha after this." Makoto spoke up. "We will tell her everything when we get back. Kei's illness, our plan to kill those who are a threat before Kei dies, and other secrets we have kept."

Kei pouted. "Everything?"

"Everything." Itachi and Makoto said at the same time.

"Fine!" Kei backed down. "But she is not going to like any of this." He pointed out.

And Tsunade didn't.

* * *

o.O.o

Omake Time! Do a little dance, make a little omake, just read tonight! Anyways, Krystal-Eve wanted to see more Kakashi in the omake's so I wrote this little guy. Hope you enjoy Krystal.

**OMAKE**

Kakashi was perched in a tree outside the academy watching as one of his students taught her first class. He felt like proud parent as Sakura stood in front of a group of brats and tried to teach them the history of Konoha. None of them seemed interested, but the still looked forward and pretended to listen. Even Kakashi could admit that Sakura's lesson was a tad on the boring side.

Deciding he needed to make the class more exciting, he left the tree to gather some pebbles. When his projectile was acquired he found a branch that gave him better aim into the classroom and got comfortable.

When it looked like a student was about to nod off, Kakashi threw a pebble at them and hit them on the head. When a student looked like they were starting to daydream, Kakashi hit them on the head. When one girl tried to pass a note, Kakashi hit her on the head and her friend she was trying to contact. With each pebble Kakashi giggled. He even threw a few more at the kids that gave a more amusing reaction

Soon the class was a group of students suspiciously looking around. Kakashi thought it was time to escalate this. He waited for the perfect moment when one kid was about to raise his hand. He threw a pebble at the boy in front of him, and the target spun around, saw that raised hand and jumped over the desk to tackle the offender.

Soon the other students were joining in and blame was flying around the room. No one knew who was throwing pebbles, but they didn't care! They were annoyed and needed an outlet. Sakura screamed and yelled to get them under control but the brats were furious.

Seeing that the class was finally more lively, Kakashi left the tree and casually strolled away.

* * *

Battle Results: Gai-52, Tie-4, Lock-7 .o.O.o FoDeath-36, Tie-8, Forbid- 21

WyldeHorse said "Lockhart can Obliviate you into forgetting he has competition; Lockhart wins." And while Lockheart didn't win this round, I think that was the best reason given in his favour. And for Gai, Novus Ars said "Because Gai makes stars weep." How do you argue that... Both made me giggle like a child over a naughty word.

Battle Royale!

Better Artist: Sai vs. Dean

More Lazy: Shikamaru vs. Dudley

Thanks for all the reviews and votes I do appreciate them.

A/N: A friend of mine Ireadtomuch has started a project called 'Harry Box Social' or something like that. But it involves having Harry's from different crossover stories meet. The first chapter she came to me and asked to use Kei. So if you see a story out there with a character named Kei that is scarily similar to mine, than just know I gave Ireadtomuch permission to use him. Anyone besides Ireadtomuch using a similiar Kei does not have my permission. And you have free reign to flame them!


	39. Chapter 39

Disclaimer: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

Warnings: _Language, OC'ness, Het, Slash, twists and turns, fluff, smut, and abuse to the author, Loss of Kei's cuteness._

_**Beta:**__ FEARMEfrancis_

**Forgotten Fear**

Tsunade glared. It wasn't just a normal glare, it was a very intense glare that she had reserved solely for Jiraiya, but now brought out for the duo in front of her. "And why did you think now was the appropriate time to tell me that one of my best ANBU is DYING?" She kept a tight control on her emotions but the last word come out loudly and full of venom.

Kei and Makoto flinched.

"In all honesty we thought Kei would die before it become a larger issue." Makoto explained honestly.

"That is not a valid reason. When this was discovered you, Kei, and Rikoto should have come to the Hokage's office immediately. What if this caused an accident that killed more than just Kei?" Tsunade was livid. She was breathing deeply, her hands were crushing the edge of her desk into dust, and her eyes were narrowed and fierce.

"It hasn't until now. That is why we are telling you." Kei spoke up.

"I am taking you off active duty and you will stay in that hospital until we find a cure for this." Tsunade commanded. She wanted this entire thing to be done already and it had barely started. She did not want to see the line of people who would want to tear down her door and kill her for letting Kei carry on in his condition.

Kei paled. "No! You can't do that. I have to continue with my missions. If I'm not at Hogwarts than I can't find a way to get the wards up." Kei explained.

"I don't care. I rather have you waste a year getting better than have you drop dead in the middle of a mission. This isn't just about you Kei. When you go out to meet our two spies we gain valuable information to protect and help Konoha. They only trust you, and if you died on route to or from them then we lose two spies and Konoha is at greater risk.

"I will be bringing in Rikoto and seriously interrogating him for this severe breach in Medical conduct. He knew you were dying and putting a risk to yourself, and your teammates by staying quiet and not informing anyone. He is a competent doctor but he is not a master. I could have helped find or create a medicine that better helped treat you, or used my chakra to rid your body of this problem."

"It is not Rikoto's fault!" Kei protested. "I had to guilt him into staying quiet. I didn't want anyone but Makoto and him to know. When we were younger and on the same team I almost died and he blamed himself. I used that to ensure he stayed quiet, but I didn't want Nii-san to know. Since that time, I have been planning on how to best protect Konoha after I'm gone.

"I know you want me better, but I will die sometime. Who is to say after spending a year in the Hospital getting well that I won't walk out of Konoha for my first mission and be slaughtered? What if in that time you can't heal me and then we lost a year where I could have been making a difference? We don't know. Shinobi lives are too random and fragile to predict." Kei said passionately.

"What are you planning to do? Leave wards? You didn't know about wards until last year and you had already been diagnosed long before that." Tsunade spat.

"No. I want to ensure that I eliminate as many threats to Konoha first. My main focus before this disease consumes me is to take out Madara." Kei told the Hokage defiantly.

"Madara... you want to go against the Akatsuki single-handed? Or are you planning to drag Makoto along with you on this suicide mission?"

"I will go willingly." Makoto responded.

"It won't just be us. During this time I have gathered several allies that can help. They are strong enough to combat evenly with the Akatsuki. Uchiha Itachi already has the information we need and is in a position to strike from the centre of the organization. Uchiha Sasuke is waiting in the wings to strike Orochimaru, and I have several allies that are itching to help." Kei explained.

"Who is there to help? You have both Uchiha's but four against all them? You will be dead before that first Akatsuki body hits the ground." Tsunade pointed out.

"I trust in their abilities. I have personally fought Momichi Zabuza and can attest to his strength. His apprentice Haku is also very skilled."

Tsunade stilled. "Zabuza...you killed him." She stated slowly.

"We never said that."

"It travelled all over the Hidden Nations that two Konoha nin had killed Zabuza and his apprentice. You brought back a mask and his sword to prove it." Tsunade continued in a slow tone.

"We never said we killed him technically." Kei argued.

"We said we fought and then showed our souvenirs. We never stated that they had died." Makoto added.

"Everyone assumed and you know what they say about assumptions..." Kei trailed off.

"We would have bragged more if we had killed them." Makoto said lightly.

Tsunade's glare returned. "So what did you do with the head money?"

"Dango."

Tsunade shifted her glare completely on the smallest shinobi. "You spent all that money on dango..."

"It was an experiment." Kei justified.

"On what?" Tsunade roared. Her nerves were fraying and she wasn't sure she could take much more of this. These two would be the death of her. Never mind enemies walking in and chopping her head off, these two just needed to talk and she could see her brain exploding from pure frustration.

"If the dango from other villages and towns was as good as the dango from Konoha."

"And pudding. We had to test the pudding as well." Makoto felt the urge to tack on.

Tsunade stood and reached a clawed hand towards Makoto who was closer to her. She stopped herself and pulled her shaking hand back, and muttered darkly to herself. She reached forward again but stopped and dropped her hand. She turned away from the pair and took several steadying breaths. After a few beats she returned to her seated position and smiled pleasantly at them.

"So we're killing the bad guys. How should we begin?" She asked lightly.

Kei and Makoto felt a worried drop of sweat form on their brows at the Hokage's new composure. This calm and happy side of her was scarier than the barely restrained anger.

"Next month I plan to call together our allies and tell them the situation. We will then discuss who should target who. Some shinobi abilities are better suited to take down certain members and we should exploit that. I know I will personally be attacking Tobi, and Sasuke will kill Orochimaru. Just in case we will try to have someone assist Sasuke if he is not prepared for the task." Kei explained.

Tsunade kept smiling. "Well that sounds like a start. Where will you be meeting?"

"Tea Country. It is already the established base of Itachi and Kisame, and neutral ground." Makoto explained. "While we are at Hogwarts we ask that you secure a proper meeting place for us."

Tsunade nodded. "I think I can manage that. I know a wealthy business man in Tea who has a few houses that I'm sure he can lend us. How will you contact the others?"

"Crows. Itachi has lent us some. One crow is for Itachi to tell him the meeting place and we will use two others to contact Sasuke and Gaara. We will see Zabuza and Haku when we return to the outside world, so that is covered." The smallest shinobi said.

Tsunade gave them both a considering look. "And what are you giving Zabuza and this Haku in exchange?"

Makoto smirked. "We already paid him in a way. Other than that we just have to return his sword for his help."

"Well it seems you two already have everything covered so now I won't feel bad about what I'm going to say next. When you return next month you will go on an A-rank mission." Kei and Makoto didn't think that sounded too bad. They were ANBU so they had gone on several A-rank missions and S-rank missions. "With two Genin." That stopped all their thoughts.

"W-what?" Kei stuttered.

"I will send you on a mission with Naruto and Sakura to help better prepare them for life as a shinobi. You will train them, supervise them, and make sure they return alive." The Hokage grinned. This was a small amount of revenge for everything the pair had put her through the last hour.

"Does Sakura have to come?" Kei asked hesitantly.

Tsunade's grin stretched further with sadistic glee. "Oh yes. She _must_ go."

Kei steeled his shoulders and turned to his partner "See this is why I didn't want to tell her." He said petulantly.

o.O.o

Kei sat on a hospital bed and idly kicked his feet. Once they had concluded their meeting Tsunade had dragged Kei to the hospital. They got to watch as she completely berated Rikoto, studied his findings, and then scolded the poor young doctor some more. When Rikoto was left quivering in his office corner, Kei was thrown onto a bed while Tsunade prepared herself to give him a full examination.

"I would like to say I trust Hiroshima-san, but I don't." Tsunade snapped at Kei when he asked if they really needed to check him over again. Kei sighed and let the Hokage do as she liked. He knew he was no match for her strength. He could try running but she was the Hokage and she would win in the end.

Tsunade's hands glowed green and she calmly asked him to remove his shirt. Kei complied and once the garment was gone Tsunade was running her chakra-fused hands over his torso. The Hokage hummed a few times, and even whispered a few things to herself, but other than that was completely focussed on her task. Kei didn't mind so much since it was a lovely break from her anger. He felt like he should tell her that too much bottled up rage could cause wrinkles, but he doubted it would have gone over well.

When Tsunade finished her exam she leaned back, wiped her forehead of sweat and let out a long string of swear words. She glared right at Rikoto with she spoke. "I don't like you right now brat, but you didn't miss a thing in your analysis. The only thing I could do was take away some of the aches in the bones, and repair a few muscles but that's it."

Kei nodded his head in acceptance. "I already knew that there would be nothing to stop this." He spoke seriously.

Tsunade frowned. "Did you go to those stick wavers for help?"

Kei simply smiled. "No."

"You're not even going to try?" The Hokage seemed more upset with Kei's diagnosis than Kei himself. "Asking them for help isn't my first choice, but if they can heal one of my best shinobi I am willing to put my pride aside."

"I have already come to terms with this. I know what I want to do before I die, and I hope you will assist me Hokage-sama."

"You don't want to spend a year here with me, but those stick people could have something quicker and more effective to help. As your Hokage I order you to at least approach a qualified healer with your problem." Tsunade said with force.

Kei glared. "I refuse. I already said that I have chosen my path." Kei argued.

"I want you alive." The Hokage threw back.

"I don't want to be healed when I go to my death." Kei hissed at her.

"And why not? You will be in a better physical condition to fight and wouldn't suffer from the symptoms that could and will probably cause you to lose."

Kei scoffed. "Because if I went to face when I wasn't dying like I am...I would be too scared to fight." Kei admitted quietly. The room was silent as the smallest shinobi's words washed over them. "If I walk into that fight knowing I have nothing to lose I can fight to my full potential. If I am constantly worried about my new lifespan, I will hesitate, I will second-guess myself, and I will be afraid. I can't have that."

Tsunade stared at the small and young ANBU member in front of her. She always knew that he was still a child. That he was far younger than anyone else in his circle, and had seen too much for someone his age, but it wasn't until now that he looked so little and fragile did she feel guilty about all the missions she sent him on that could kill him. It was a hard slap of reality that he's wasn't just a midget man in navy blue and a flak jacket. He was a boy and while other boys his age still ran around the academy and went home at night to a warm house and peaceful sleep, this boy was out plotting to protect Konoha and kill the most vile scum on this earth. She didn't want to agree or follow his logic because then she would feel that on top of 'medic', and 'Hokage' that 'child killer' would be added to her list of titles. But the boy had a point and such determination and passion in him that she knew she had lost.

Tsunade sighed again and rubbed her temples. "Does Kakashi know?"

Kei's face drew grave at the question. "No and I wish that it stays that way."

"I need a drink." Tsunade moaned. "When you die he will come to me and what do I say? Yeah I knew your kid brother was dying and I let him run off into battle instead of letting you spend his last remaining days together in peace?"

"If you have to." Kei snapped. "As a shinobi it is expected of me to die in battle and I cannot think of a more honourable death then dying while trying my hardest to make Konoha as safe as possible. He will understand that. Not at first but in time."

"In time... but it won't make his pain less." Tsunade pointed out. And she knew that personally.

Kei's temper dropped. "I know. But he is the main reason I'm doing this. Nii-san has given me everything I could ever want. I don't want to leave him but if I change my mind than he might lose his life to one of the Akatsuki members. I want that threat gone." Kei had a strong sense of pleading in his voice. He needed Tsunade to understand and not tell his brother.

"You know Kei, it's not easy being Hokage. You have to make many difficult decisions a day that can kill your people. One mistake could lead to one death or many from a war. I have seen a lot of suffering, and suffered, but if I learned one thing from that it's that last few days are the most important. I won't tell Kakashi, but before you embark on this suicide mission, I want you to at least dedicate a few days just for your brother. No missions, no training, make your last days together happy. We owe Kakashi that." When she finished the village leader turned and left. With slumped shoulders and a stiff gait, she was looking older than she ever had before.

"Let's get back to Hogwarts Kei-kun." Makoto spoke up. He held out Kei's shirt and the smallest shinobi nodded.

o.O.o

Hogwarts was in a subtle state of fear. The Slytherins had made it known that the muggleborns time was limited, and that caused for quite a few younger students to burst into random bouts of tears. The owls were starting to get overworked from fear-filled students, and as hard as they tried, the professors just couldn't calm or stamp out all the exaggerated rumours floating about. A large wave of fake amulets and talismans entered the school, and some ambitious students even started selling them off- the price getter higher and higher each day.

When Kei returned he had learned about everything that happened in his absence, and while he was concerned about this 'Heir of Slytherin' wandering around and interrupting his work, he had bigger things to think of. Namely, all the new information Kei and Makoto had received from one Bill Weasley. The eldest Weasley son was very passionate about wards and had sent a lengthy letter back to his brother. The letter had several books in the Hogwarts library that Kei could look at, and even a list of 20 that Kei could order.

Ward stones were the answer to Kei's problem. The more Kei read about them, the more he knew that this is what he needed to use to forever protect Konoha. A ward stone was any large precious metal, rock, or jewel, that had a combination of runes and spells cast on it. The material that reacted very well to magic would absorb the intent of the castor and craver and over time form a complicated series of wards in the center of the stone/jewel. The more detailed the runes and more time and sincerity would help amplify the wards. The more power one used for the spells also helped push the ward stone to being near impenetrable.

There were a few problems that Kei and Makoto would need to smooth out, but it was nothing a bit more research and time couldn't solve. The first thing they needed to tackle was obtaining the actual ward stone. Some stones reacted better to certain wards and runes, while some jewels were perfect for a certain task. Gold was a great conductor and compatible with almost all wards and runes, but if placed under too much pressure or power, the gold would melt and ruin the warding web. Silver and bronze were also very versatile metals, but there was only so much power they could put out, and were considerably weaker.

With gems it was stated in all the theory books that certain gems worked better with certain elements. When Kei had read this he knew exactly what element he needed to work with to protect Konoha. Nothing could be more fitting or better than Fire to protect his precious village. He would need a Ruby.

Rubies are well known for being the 'Lord of Gems'. It can hold a very high level of power and helps amplify any fire based ward cast into it. The ruby was also the symbol of Capricorns. Capricorns in their own right symbolized Konoha quite well. They were tough, unyielding, and always planned carefully to fulfill their ambitions. Kei couldn't see a more perfect base for a ward stone than a ruby.

"Kei this is perfect an all but we have one small, itty bitty tiny little problem with using a ruby." Makoto whispered to him late one night in Makoto's office. The pair were pouring over their ward stone research again making sure they hadn't missed anything so far.

"We don't have the money to buy a giant ruby?" Kei asked.

"Exactly."

Kei laughed lightly. "Makoto my dear partner, did you forget about that large vault full of gold that is waiting for Harry Potter to claim?"

Makoto smirked. "Momentarily, but I promise I won't again in the future." Makoto reassured.

"I think we need to see if we can spend it all before we return to Konoha." Kei threw out.

"Oh? You don't want to bring it back to the village and flood our economy thus making us the single richest village in all the hidden nations and large target for the bitter poorer nations?" Makoto asked with mock shock.

Kei giggled. "Tempting but I rather not have our ward stone tested too often."

Makoto smiled. "But then everyone can see all the hard work you put into it."

"Makoto, I'm ANBU. If I wanted to be flashy and have everyone see what I do, I would retire and pick up a Genin team." Kei shivered at the thought.

"Hmm... I see your point. But how will we spend all that?" Makoto asked.

Kei smirked wickedly. "Well I read a passage in one of the theory books that talks about combining different metal, stones, and gems to form a single ward stone." Kei explained.

"So the ruby mixed with what?"

Kei sighed as he leaned back in his chair and stretched his back. "This is only a little thought at the moment, but the ruby enhances fire and that fits Konoha, but since I'm putting it together with your help I think we should add our elements into it. I have a lightening affinity no matter how much people think I suit wind, and you are best with earth. We have the ruby in the middle as the heart of the ward-stone, and then have it encased in Peridot to enhance my lightening, and surround that with marble for you.

"The first line of defence will be your earth abilities. We can have vines shooting up from the ground and trapping enemies, or spikes jumping out. If they break past you they will face me. Lightening will rain down, electric currents will course through the earth, and any metal weapons they have will shock them and burn their skin. And then... they face the fire. The true defence of Konoha. If they survive that then the last line of defence is the actual shinobi. Wards will only work so far, and the shinobi need to do their part as well."

The bluenette smiled fondly at his partner. "Some days I feel so stupid when you open your mouth and wonder how I ever came to be your partner." The older ninja spoke softly.

Kei had a completely baffled expression on his face. "I wouldn't have lived through our first snow mission without you. It doesn't matter how we ended up partners, the only thing that matters is that we are."

Makoto's eyes got all watery and his smile grew shaky. "I'll miss you when you're gone." He confessed.

Kei's felt his own tears forming and he quickly looked away and blinked a few times. "I'm not dead yet. We still have lots of fun and mischief to do before that happens." He promised.

Makoto laughed. "Yes we do. Starting with a ward stone and telling Tsunade we need to dig up ANBU headquarters.

o.O.o

The ward research eventually split into two sections. While Kei was talking to the goblins to get his materials, Makoto started researching ruins and practicing his carving skills. While runes was a branch of magic, it didn't actually need the carver to use magic. The partners had decided that would be best for Makoto to tackle since he didn't have a magical core, plus it gave Kei more time to focus on gathering the ward he would need to cast into the stone.

So far, Kei was having a few problems with the goblins. Who knew the wrinkly money grubbing creatures would be so difficult? They refused to allow any withdrawal from Harry's vault unless Kei actually went down and saw them in person to prove his identity. It also didn't help that Zabuza, who had agreed to find the ruby, Peridot, and marble, was being difficult and often sent Kei rude letters telling him to hurry up. The only time Kei saw that it was possible to get to Gringotts was during the Christmas break, but that would set the partners back one day.

Kei didn't like all this planning, plotting, and penning. His had was getting cramped from taking notes all day, writing Zabuza letter after letter telling him to stop the curse filled pieces of paper he insisted on sending, and the holes he put into parchment when his frustration needed an outlet.

Kei seriously hoped that his Christmas mission with the Genin would be a simple go in, kill, get out. He couldn't stand plotting Madara destruction, ward construction, and a long mission with he needed to build a mask on top of his already multiple mask tower.

Kei was starting to feel old.

* * *

*sings* Its Omake time! Omake time! Omake time! *stops* Thank you, thank you.

**OMAKE**

Haku entered the living room and sighed as he saw the large piles of crumpled paper that formed in his absence. He started picking them up and smiling softly at the sight of many crossed out sentences and words. "I don't know y you insist on coming up with new curse words and insults every letter." He spoke.

Zabuza grumbled something from his hunched over position in front of the table. He was furiously writing something before he stopped, cursed, and crumpled the new paper and tossed it away. He grabbed a fresh piece of paper and started all over again. Haku thought it was ridiculous.

"Kei probably doesn't even read the letters." He said.

Zabuza's hand stopped moving and large missing nin slowly turned and pierced Haku with his steely gaze. "Kei doesn't read my letters? I put hours and hours of effort into coming up with original content and he just...throws them away?"

Haku frowned. "With a letter a day I think he already knows what they will say." Haku explained.

Zabuza quickly surged to his feet and instinctively reached for his sword- that was a habit he could never break. When his hand came up empty he grumbled some more and stalked out of the room. "Haku pack! We're going to Hogwarts. I'm going to beat the fucking little brat for throwing away my letters!" He roared.

"Haku sighed again and counted to five. Zabuza slowly walked back into the room. "Haku... do you know where Scotland is?" he asked. This happened once a week since Kei started mailing them.

Haku shook his head. "No, besides we can't leave the shop. Kei probably reads your letters. I beat he even frames tem. Just go back to your new letter and I will bring you some tea."

Zabuza reluctantly agreed and returned to his letter writing with a new vigour. He would make sure that Kei fully understood what would happen if he threw away his letters.

* * *

**Battle Results:**

Dean Vs. Sai: Dean-3, Tie-3, **Sai**-41. Ouch poor Dean...

Shika Vs. Dudley: Shika-26, Tie-3, **Dudley**-27, and Kitsuneluvah-1 (they voted for themselves) This is probably the closest result we have ever had. I think that's totally awesome.

**Battle Royale!**

Due to Popular demand, **Who can eat more?** Dudley vs. Choji

**Who is more Tall, Dark, and Awesome?** Sirius vs. Zabuza

**A/N**:Lady Avotil and several others have asked "Why doesn't Kei use the Philosopher Stone to heal up?" Well...this is how I answered. "The philosopher stone bit I added, just for the amusement that Kei and Makoto had stolen it. No other reason than them unknowingly stealing one of the greatest wizarding treasures to ever exist. To them it was a mini mission and once they finished they don't think of it anymore. Also they are so busy researching wards that any other study, like on red stones, would seem pointless-" I know a few people will be upset, but I apologize. I had plotted Kei's illness from the start and know where and how it will end, just trust me?


	40. Chapter 40

**Disclaimer**: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

**Warnings**: _Language, OC'ness, Het, Slash, twists and turns, fluff, smut, and abuse to the author, Loss of Kei's cuteness._

_**Beta**__: FEARMEfrancis_

**Time is Ticking**

Kei trekked through the snow out to the quidditch pitch with Oliver Wood. It was an early evening in December and Wood had booked the pitch for private practice. Normally the older boy would practice alone trying out new skills and plotting new formations for his team, but earlier when he ran into Kei he couldn't help but invite the younger boy along. Kei had agreed immediately since he could hardly pass up a chance to fly.

"Are you sure this is okay?" Kei asked. Wood had met him in the entrance hall with two brooms. One was his old broom from his second year when he first made the team, and the other was the new broom that he bought last year.

"I trust that you won't break it Kei to badly." Oliver said teasingly. "But what I'm curious about is if you can really help with my keeping."

Kei laughed. "Well maybe not but I do have decent aim."

Oliver smiled and Kei couldn't help but smile wider at the sight. Being friends with Oliver Wood was different from being friends with any of the people back in Konoha and Louis and Chris. Oliver was so mature and generally a happy and nice guy. Kei wasn't used to seeing such lightness in an older persons eyes. It was refreshing. With Louis and Chris Kei felt he needed to hide just a bit more than he needed to with Oliver.

"I'll trust you on this, but if you get tired at any time be sure to tell me okay?" The older boy had a worried tone to his voice.

Kei gave the Gryffindor a reassuring smile before he kicked into the air and soared through the sky. Kei felt a giggle worm it's way up his throat and out his mouth. A deep chuckle behind him caused Kei to turn and see Oliver floating a few yards behind him.

"You're a natural flyer." The older boy complimented.

"If I could spend the rest of my life flying I would." Kei admitted.

"That's the dream." Oliver responded with a half smile. "But enough dreaming let's test out your aim. I have to practice sometime."

Kei nodded and swung around to follow Oliver over to a set of three golden hoops. The keeper threw him the quaffle and Kei spent a moment getting familiar with its weight and size.

"Let's go little man!" Oliver cheered.

What followed would be a very intense training session for Oliver. Kei showed his superior aim and the Gryffindor was forced to work harder than he had before. Not only did Kei show his skill on the broom, by continually throwing and catching his own goals, but he was subtly changing Olivers reaction speed. The older boy was speeding up and adjusting well to the high-level throws and was gradually getting closer and closer to saving a shot. The pair only stopped when Oliver was unable to continue and Kei was slightly winded.

"I...I didn't expect that." Oliver gasped out between deep breaths.

"You really shouldn't underestimate those smaller than you." Kei threw out. His arms and legs were getting sore.

"I won't anymore, I promise."

Kei smiled and slowly drifted back to the ground. It was getting late and he would need to meet Makoto soon.

"So, are you staying at the school this Christmas?" Wood asked as he landed beside Kei.

"No. Makoto and I are going back home."

Oliver hummed. "Well if you get back here early you could drop by my place. My father built a pitch out back so I can practice at home. You can come by anytime." The older boy offered.

Kei frowned. "I would but I don't think we will have time. We have a tight schedule."

"The offer is always there." Oliver promised.

Together the two walked back to the castle in silence, each in deep thought. Kei was thinking about the meeting in Tea and this mission Tsunade would assign him. While Oliver was thinking about how next year, Hufflepuff would be a force to be reckoned with if Kei joined the team. Oliver started making plans on how to work his team harder to combat the little 'Puff next year so that Gryffindor could take home the cup.

When they reached the Great Hall, Kei stopped Oliver before he could leave. "Oliver, if I wanted to keep something really secret is there a spell of something to do that?" Kei asked.

Oliver frowned. "Do you not want others to know about our quidditch practice?" The lion seemed hurt at the implication, so Kei hurried to reassure him.

"No no! It's just that back home my older brother is a very important man. He often deals with village secrets and I don't want to accidentally spill them. Is there a spell that will help me and others keep them?" Kei rambled out quickly.

Oliver's chin lifted just a tad bit. "Well if your brother has them swear an oath to keep everything secret than he should be fine."

"Would it work on someone without magic?" that was the big question. While he could promise not to spread information would the others be held to the same oath.

"If the oath is performed with a magical person yes. Their magic would just have to compensate for the muggles or squibs. They can't make an Unbreakable Vow since they don't have magic to kill them, but a simple oath about swearing to keep certain things secret would be fine. If they try to tell they will find themselves unable and the more times they try they will just get a small zap of pain or irritation." Kei listened closely to Oliver's explanation. It seemed like something he could use for the meeting.

"How does one perform such an oath?" Kei asked.

Oliver ran a hand through his hair. "Well I never did one but I think you just need to shake hands and have the person say something official sounding."

Kei nodded. "Thank you Oliver. That's a really big help."

The Gryffindor smiled and lightly messed up Kei's hair. "Don't worry about it. I will help you in any way I can."

o.O.o

When the Kei stepped off the Hogwarts Express, he instantly searched for Bones. The older woman would be taking the duo to Gringotts before she took Susan home. The shinobi only needed the woman for transport to the Alley since after the bank they would be taking a portkey back to Konoha. Zabuza and Haku would be coming with them for the meeting, and had agreed to meet the leaf ninja at the pub connected to the Alley. It had been a long process to set everything up on their end, and they only hoped that Tsunade had as much a success on contacting the others.

"Ready boys?" Bones asked crisply when they joined her.

"Yes ma'am."

"Let's go." Bones latched a hand onto Makoto while Kei climbed up his partners shoulders. Susan was holding her aunts other hand and without hesitation the older witch apparated them off the platform. The group landed in the apparation point beside the bank, and Bones released Makoto.

"Well if that is all gentlemen I should be off." The wizened witch stated right away.

"Um... Madam Bones..." Kei started.

"You wouldn't have any advice to help deal with the goblins would you?" Makoto finished. Through their correspondence with the creatures they didn't come off as the most pleasant bunch and from their first meeting with the goblins during the summer, well it wasn't a confident duo walking into the bank.

Bones took a moment to think before she smirked at the pair, "Don't steal from them." After that, the witch and her niece were gone with a pop.

"_I think she enjoys the pain of others."_ Kei stated in their native tongue.

"_Most likely."_

"_Time to go in?"_ Kei slumped against Makoto's head.

"_Yes. But once this is done and we get the funds to buy the materials we need then we are back to Konoha. I bet some dango stands are close to closing without your money."_

"_Anko is there. She can support them for now."_ Kei reassured his partner. Kei had left very detailed instructions for Anko so that she would pay each of his favourite dango stands equal amount of attention so they would never be in fear of closing.

Makoto frowned. _"But what about my pudding places?"_

"_I left Kotetsu and Izumo with money so they can support your pudding. We have nothing to worry about there."_ Kei reassured his partner.

"_My genius partner thinks of everything."_ Makoto complimented.

"_Hai hai!"_

Silence descended on the partners as they stared at the large white building. They heard goblins were short, maybe they were compensating for something. Slowly Makoto took a single step towards the building and halted. Nothing happened. No little men with spears came rushing them. Makoto took a second step and then a third. The taller of the shinobi made his way up the steps and to the door.

"_This building needs windows." _Kei announced.

"_Kei this door won't eat you." _Makoto argued.

"_No... but it's the only escape route if something goes wrong."_

"_Nothing will go wrong."_

"_So you think."_

"_it won't."_

"_Then why are you hesitating on entering?"_

"_I'm not. I'm just letting you get prepared. I know your aversion to anything with proper handles."_

"_You would think you wouldn't have a fear of short things since I'm your partner."_

"_I don't fear goblins."_

"_And I'm not scared of doors. I just don't trust them."_

A cough brought the partners back to the present and their notice to the two goblin guards standing nearby. They couldn't tell if the goblins were angry or amused, their faces really didn't leave much for expression.

"I would suggest you go in or go away." One guard spoke up. He gave the shinobi a sneer and revealed two rows of sharp pointed yellow teeth.

"In." The duo said together. Makoto quickly reached forward and pulled open the door. Once they were inside the open foyer, Kei groaned.

"_This place is a death trap for anything that's not a goblin."_ Kei whispered. It was true. The bank had two long desks that had sections separated by wooden walls. The only exits were the doors behind the desk, only accessible by the goblins and the large doors at the other end of the bank with guards. The long stretch between the entrance and the other doors was a large open empty space. Any intruder or enemy would have no cover as they tried to travel one end to the other.

"_It's a very advantageous set up for them."_ Makoto whispered back. The pair really hadn't paid much attention to the place last time they were here. They were more focused on getting Kei's things for Hogwarts and just generally taking in the Wizarding world.

"_They planned it this way."_

"_We are dealing with very smart warriors that have your money."_

"_No stealing?"_ Kei whispered.

"_No stealing."_ Makoto confirmed. That done Makoto strode towards an open teller. "Excuse me, but we are here to discuss the accounts of Harry Potter." Makoto was sure to keep his voice low as he spoke.

"And do you have any proof you are Harry Potter?" the goblin locked eyes with Makoto.

"I don't. But the little guy on my shoulders does." Makoto answered swiftly. The goblins eyes slowly moved from Makoto and settled on Kei.

"You are Harry Potter?"

"Apparently." Kei smiled at the creature. Quick as could be Kei whipped off his ribbon and moved his bangs a little to show his scar. Since the majority of what he heard about Harry Potter was about the famous lightning bolt scar, Kei thought it would be a good place to start.

"I see. Are you willing to do a blood test for further proof?" the goblin asked. He didn't seemed fazed at all but simply bored.

"I can." Kei agreed.

The goblin took a small stone bowl from under the desk and place it on top his ledger. Next, he pulled a potion bottle out and uncapped it, pouring the silver liquid inside into the bowl. "A drop of blood is all I need." He announced.

Kei bit his thumb and let a drop of blood into the bowl once Makoto leaned forward enough for him to reach. The blood hit the liquid, sizzled for a moment, and then rose to the top again to spell out 'Harry James Potter'.

"_Ne, look at that Makoto, I am Harry Potter."_ Kei stated lowly to his partner.

Makoto clicked his tongue. _"We already knew that. Bones took us to your trust vault after all."_

"_Never hurts to be sure. Bones seems to be getting a bit batty in her old age." _Kei pointed out.

"Is there anything else I can do for you today?" the goblin interrupted them.

Kei smiled. "Yes! Can we withdraw a large amount now?"

The goblin sneered again. "Ironclank will take you down."

Soon another goblin was standing with the shinobi and directed them towards the other larger doors.

"_Huh... wasn't so bad."_ Kei told his partner.

"_Well I think it's because we didn't steal anything."_ Makoto fired back.

"_There's still time."_ Kei made sure to whisper at a level only Makoto would hear. Makoto's only response was to laugh.

o.O.o

When the pair got back to Konoha they made their way straight to Tsunade. Zabuza and Haku were hiding out in a village close to the Tea border, and waiting for news from Kei and Makoto. Once they got confirmation from Tsunade about the meeting place, they would send a message to the two Mist nin and meet them there. It was quite a shock when the pair entered the Hokage's office and spotted three older and very respected Jounin waiting inside.

"Hokage-sama." Kei and Makoto bowed their heads slightly at the village leader.

Tsunade gave them both a stern look. "If I weren't so used to you both just barging into my office, I would have started scolding you both on poor manners." The Leader berated. "As it is, we have more important things to discuss."

Kei looked at the other Jounins quickly and then sent a questioning look towards Tsunade. "Should we wait for you to finish your current meeting Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade smiled this time. It was a very cruel and sadistic smile, and Kei was scared about what was going to happen. 'No no, Nara-san, Akimichi-san, and Yamanaka-san, are all here to help with your mission."

Makoto took the lead this time. "The Naruto-Sakura mission, or the other mission?"

"The other." Was the simple reply. "I have already informed them of everything you have told me and planned up until now. I understand your want and need for secrecy on this matter but I believe bringing in three others would be beneficial. Kei did say that he could die at anytime, and while I trust you Makoto, I don't think you could handle this on your own.

"Shikaku, Inoichi, and Choza will travel to Tea separately and meet you there. Together you will debrief that group you have assembled. They are all highly intelligent and experienced Jounin, and will be an asset." Tsunade glared straight at Kei to dig home her point. "If you die tomorrow I want this to be done either way."

Kei just gaped at the Hokage. "You told them everything?" Makoto asked in a slightly higher pitched voice.

"Yes everything." Tsunade switched her glare from Kei to Makoto. "They know about Itachi, Sasuke, Zabuza, and your illness Kei."

"That's an awfully lot of secret information you passed on..." Kei trailed off.

"And as the Hokage it`s my choice to inform others or not. I decided that I don`t want just the two of you on this mission, since you have both proven how little you like to keep me informed." Tsunade snapped.

The pair had the decency to be ashamed at that. It was true they kept quite a lot from Tsunade, and they really shouldn't have. Did they learn from their mistake? Sort of. They would find a better deliver secrets in the future as to avoid such a violent reaction like this.

"Do they also know about out other _other _long secret mission?" Kei asked.

"No. You two can still feel special about being the only ones on that mission." Tsunade responded. Her hostility was going down, but that wasn't a good thing. It meant her sadistic side was becoming more prominent. Kei turned towards the three silent Jounin who were watching on, and gave them a Hatake eye smile.

"Any questions?"

Nara, Shikaku, spoke up first. "Since our children are coming, do you mind if we leave first?"

Kei whipped around and stared at Tsunade. "Their children know too?" The Hokage smiled, and Kei shivered. There it was! The scary and cruel vindictive smile that only a scorned woman could make.

"Of course. We need to train them as they are the future of this village. They should be prepared for everything and anything. They will only sit in on your strategy meeting, but not actually participate in the fight. You will have them in Tea, and Naruto and Sakura on another mission, and during your next mission break you will take Team Kurenai out."

Kei whimpered and dropped to his knees. He covered his head and tried really hard to forget what Tsunade just said. All his hard work!

Makoto cleared his thought and spoke hesitantly, "Tsunade-sama, are you sure about this? This information was known to a select few and now six more people have been included. The chances of this information leaking has grown drastically." The bluenette argued.

"If this information gets out, it won't be from the Ino-Shika-Cho teams" Tsunade fired back.

Kei stood up suddenly with his composure back. He had a new trick courtesy of Oliver Wood, and he was going to use it to ensure that all his plans did not fail because a Genin thought they could impress their friends by knowing S-rank secrets. "I know this is your choice and you have decided to include them, but I would feel better if all new parties, were to come, shake my hand, stare me in the eye, and swear that they will not reveal any of this to anyone outside this small circle."

Tsunade stared evenly at Kei. "And how will that make a difference?"

"It's a..." Kei needed a word that wasn't spell or oath.

"Habit?" Makoto supplied.

"Habit. A habit I picked up on our very long and very secret mission." Kei finished explaining.

A twinkle developed in the Hokage's eye as she fully understood what Kei was implying. Kei had something to keep peoples mouth shut from revealing classified information.

"And you are sure this will work?" Tsunade asked for confirmation.

"Mostly sure."

Tsunade nodded and turned towards the older men in the room. "Go gather your children but don't tell them anything yet. When you arrive back here, wait down the hall until I am done with Naruto and Sakura. After that, I will fill your children in on their new mission and tell everyone the secret meeting place I have set up for you. Any other information will be given after everyone swears to Kei that they will keep their mouths shut."

The aged Jounin all nodded and stood together. They were a great team, and seemed to move as one. The bowed together, turned together, and walked away together. Kei and Makoto had great teamwork but even they hadn't reached that level with Sai yet, and watching them only made Kei and Makoto more eager to develop such a relationship with Sai.

"Before I call in Naruto and Sakura I want to inform you of little thing. While on this mission with them, I want you to train Naruto to prepare to be the next Hokage." The Hokage's little announcement left the duo staring at her blankly.

Makoto moved first by nudging Kei. "We probably shouldn't have told her. She's being so evil now." Makoto whispered to Kei. The little jounin nodded his head and sighed.

Tsunade was cruel.

o.O.o

Naruto leaned against the wall as he waited for Tsunade to call him and Sakura. When he had learned that the Hokage was going to send him on a special A-rank mission with Sakura he had been overjoyed. He was being trusted with an important mission, and he got to work with his teammate again. Since Sakura had joined that Academy as a teacher, Naruto had rarely seen her. Instead, Naruto spent his time training with Jiraiya, Kiba, Shino, and sometimes Hinata. Now he was going on a mission with Sakura and a few Jounins and could study the elite ninja closely. Because really, Jiraiya was not the best person to model yourself after and neither was Kakashi-sensei.

Naruto stood up straight when three Jounin walked past them and down the stairs. Naruto watched them carefully. They seemed oddly familiar, but he wasn't sure how. Well one looked remarkably like Choji, and another was similar to Shikamaru. What Naruto did know was that they were Jounin, so there was a possibility that they were the Jounin that would take Naruto and Sakura on this next mission. Naruto tried to be very respectful to them as they walked by, so that he wouldn't start out on the wrong foot with them.

The trio nodded in his direction, but were closed-lipped as they walked away. Naruto wasn't discouraged. Tsunade had promised him an A-rank mission with the best, and he trusted her. These Jounin could be off to prepare supplies, or training scrolls for the journey. They could be off to inform their families of their new mission. They could be doing a number of things before taking Naruto and Sakura out on this mission. Whatever the mission was.

When Tsunade's loud bellow rushed down the hallway, Naruto stood up straight and put on his most serious expression. He was no longer the child she had met, but a serious ninja with a lot to prove. The blonde Genin confidently strode down the hallway and entered the Hokage's office with fierce determination. Only, as soon as he saw Kei sitting on his window bench with Makoto leaning beside him, all he deflated like a balloon.

"Them? They're the elite ninjas you are sending us with?" Naruto whined. He didn't trust Kei and by default didn't trust Makoto.

Sakura shoved her way inside the office by pushing Naruto to the side. She wasn't as surprised at their Jounin instructors as Naruto. She had a hunch on who Tsunade was referring to the last time they talked. "Shut up Naruto!" She scolded.

Tsunade didn't seem upset or anything by Naruto's outburst. Instead, the Hokage looked intrigued. "Do you not like Kei and Makoto?"

Naruto frowned. He couldn't say that he thought Kei lied about killing Sasuke to the Hokage. That would put Kei's loyalty to question and if Naruto was wrong then as the accuser, he would be at threat for a very severe punishment. Naruto always knew that the only way to prove that Sasuke was alive was to find him, and bring him back to Konoha. Instead, he needed to say something to distract Tsunade from his goal. "Iruka-nii said you shouldn't trust people with white hair and face masks."

Tsunade sighed. "While I admit that the Hatake clan are...unique and sometimes overly frustrating-" Kei grunted at that. "They are 100% loyal to Konoha and can be trusted with this villages safety."

"My hair is more of a very light grey, right Makoto?" Kei spoke up.

"Of course it is Kei." Makoto placated his partner.

Naruto whined again. "Does it have to be them?"

"Yes." Tsunade answered quickly. "You will also have Sai with you." As she spoke those words the mentioned pale boy walked through the office door. He had dango in one hand and pudding in another.

"SAI!" Kei and Makoto cheered as they rushed the boy. The both took their individual treat and proceeded to smother the other boy.

Sakura brought Naruto's attention back to her when she asked a question. "I never understood that team. In the academy, they teach that all teams have a female because there are certain things only a kunoichi can do. Doesn't that hinder them?" Naruto nodded along and looked to Tsunade for an answer.

The Village Leader grinned. "Well that is normally the case but sometimes in an all male team there is a male who can effectively pass as a woman."

Naruto felt his brow scrunch together in confusion. Was Tsunade saying that one of them played a female? Looking at the trio that were huddled by the couch whispering quietly, Naruto wasn't sure which one played the girl. Makoto was pretty for a man but he was too tall. Kei had long hair but who ever heard of a girl wearing a facemask? Sai could be a girl, but the pale ninja had those squinty eyes that never appeared on girl faces. It was a tough choice. "Who?" he asked.

Tsunade's grin got wider. "All of them."

"They're all cross dressers?" Naruto yelled. The outburst drew the attention of the three and an intense staring and blinking match ensued between the trio and Naruto. No one was talking. The trio were wondering how cross dressing came up, Naruto was trying to picture the three as girls, Sakura was stunned and slightly flustered at the thought of three pretty boys dressed in kimono's, and Tsunade was entirely too amused to break it all up.

"Do you like it?" Naruto asked hesitantly. He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer. Kei shrugged, Makoto tilted his head in thought, and Sai just smiled. It wasn't the answer he was looking for.

"You will hear more about that later. Right now I have the mission I promised." That caught everyone's attention. "In Tea Country there has been a string of disappearances. Not regular civilians are disappearing but Nobles. When they enter Tea everything is fine, except they don't leave Tea and aren't seen anymore.

"Your mission is to go to Tea and find the people responsible. Once you do see if you can recover any Nobles, and if not, kill them. Also look for any money, jewels, and things you think will sell for a high price. Since this isn't a contracted mission, you will be paid by what you bring back." Tsunade explained.

"So if we don't bring anything back then we get paid nothing?" Sakura asked.

"Correct."

"But what if we bring back a lot of stuff?" Naruto asked this time.

"Then you will each get 1/6th of the money." Tsunade responded.

"But there's only five of us going." Naruto pointed out.

"Yes but also a portion of the money goes back to Konoha."

"What about expenses along the way?" Sakura asked. For longer missions Konoha would ask the client to supply the ninja with a small money pouch to spend. But since this one wasn't a contract mission, than Sakura wasn't sure how they would go about that. It was her first time hearing about missions like this.

"Out of your own pocket."

Sakura frowned. She didn't earn much as an academy instructor and what she had saved up she was going to use to buy her own apartment. If this mission didn't go well then she risked losing all her savings.

"Don't worry Pink-hime. Makoto and I have enough money to fund this mission." Kei eye smiled at her. She wasn't convinced.

"Why?"

Makoto sat up to explain. "Typically, if one party can't afford their part of the mission then the rest of the team compensate for them out of courtesy. Just like when they get back its courtesy for the party who couldn't pitch in to allow the others to have a larger share of the profit."

"So if we come back with very little then I won't get anything."

"True... but we would come back having lost money. Then again we could come back with a fortune, and you would get a smaller amount but still a significant amount of money from it." Makoto pointed out.

"But there's no guarantee." Sakura wasn't sure if she should do this mission if there was no significant reward.

"No, but there is a higher chance that there will be a fortune waiting for us when we arrive." Makoto argued with her.

"How do you guess that?"

"Because they are targeting Nobles. And Nobles are notorious for bringing small fortunes with them in money, jewellery, finery, and just trinkets. Any large sale of such items would draw too much attention, so the kidnappers will have to store majority of their haul and sell a small piece randomly. We need to infiltrate their base, find where everything is hidden, steal it and kill the ones responsible." Makoto said factually.

"How do we get in?" Naruto asked.

Tsunade spoke this time. "You pose as Nobles. Well two of you will, and the others will be the guards."

Naruto was getting confused again. "Won't they kill the guards?"

"No." Sai finally spoke. "They group probably have a cover set up that lures the Nobles and their group into a false sense of security. If they outright attacked then there would be a blood or body trail to follow, and that would gather attention. They likely have a business set up that attacks the Nobles. Once we get inside that business is when we strike- before they do."

"But we need to find that business within two weeks." Kei threw out.

"True. So instead of going the quietly travelling Noble party we will need to make ourselves a large target." Makoto added.

"But not be too obvious or else they will be suspicious." Sai tacked on.

"Which means that Sakura will need some heavy training before we arrive at Tea." Kei suggested.

"You will need to handle that, and we will focus on getting Naruto into proper guard shape." Makoto said.

"I still have some clothes that will work and fit Naruto." Sai offered.

"And I can ask Kurenai for a kimono for Sakura. None of mine are that large." Kei said.

The last comment caught Sakura's attention and the girl puffed up in anger. "Did you just say I was fat?" How dare he!

Kei laughed lightly. "No no. You are simply taller than I am and my Kimono would not fit you." He explained.

Tsunade let out a loud barking laugh. "Figures you would have your own set of female kimonos."

Sakura gaped for a moment before she snapped her mouth shut and blushed. "I do need yours, I can just use one of my own." The pinkette stated.

Kei shook his head. "No, none of your clothes are fine enough to be worn by a Noble. To play the part you need to look and act like it."

Sakura blushed deeper.

Tsunade chuckled. "You lot can sort out the rest of the details later. Naruto, Sakura get out and get ready while I talk to Kei and Makoto. Sai if you could follow the Genin and tell them the essentials to bring."

Sai nodded and ushered the Genin out. Even as they started walking out the door, the pale boy was rattling off a memorized list of items they needed and the suggested items. Once they were gone, Kei sank deeper into the couch and sighed.

"We're not getting out of this office anytime today are we Makoto?"

* * *

I'm slowly running out of ideas for omakes, so I thought why not use the Hatake Rules? I will now start a series of Hatake Rules inspired omake's. Enjoy.

**OMAKE**

Be On time

Dinner in the Great Hall started at 6 o'clock. Most students would wander in sometime before or six and just wait for the clock to chime and the food to appear. Kei never agreed with that. On should always be late to avoid any ambushes! This is what he had been teaching Louis in his ninja lessons. So the youngest Pucey child waited outside the doors, even though his best friend Christopher had gone into the Hall five minutes earlier.

Louis had taken all of Kei's lessons to heart. If you should be late, then he was going to be late! Louis waited outside the doors and watched the clock. It struck six, and the suddenly a large explosions of distress came from the Hall. Louis was tempted to go in, but he couldn't. If he did then he would be on time and that wasn't allowed to happen.

When the clock turned over to 6:01 pm, Louis hesitantly opened the doors and saw that all the students and teachers in the hall had been covered in a sticky looking green slime. Louis looked at the clock again and grinned. Kei was right. Never be on time.

* * *

I need to say a few Thank You's here. I reached appoint where I had to sit down and plot seriously and it wasn't going well, so the wonderful Araceil got a very distressing plea for help from me. Araceil was the picture of calm and grace as she helped point me in the right direction, so Thank You. Also thanks to my beta who has an endless amount of patience for me, and can listen to me ramble and rant all night. Finally, to all my lovely and great loyal readers and reviewers. I cannot thank you enough for supporting me and this story, and not sending an angry mob after me for the long waits. ALSO! A big Thank you to all the lovely reviewers who leave stories for me. I love every single one of them, and if you don't read other authors reviews, I suggest you start because there are some gems hidden in there.

Battle Results: Dudley-2, Tie-9, **Choji-32**. Sirius-18, Tie-4, **Zabuza-22. **Is it sad if I actually cheered when Dudley finally got a vote?

**Battle Royale!**

Who is more Gentle and Kind? **Remus vs. Shizune**

Who is the more powerful ginger?** Dumbledore** (he was a red head at some point!) Vs. **Gaara**


	41. Chapter 41

Disclaimer: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

Warnings: _Language, OC'ness, Het, Slash, twists and turns, fluff, smut, and abuse to the author, Loss of Kei's cuteness._

_**Beta**__: FEARMEfrancis_

**Training Montage**

Kei ushered Sakura onto Kurenai's couch and sat opposite the girl. Kei took a deep breath to calm his mind, before he started teaching the pink-haired girl enough to get her through this mission. Kei thought it was a tad unfair that he had to instruct the girl alone, while Sai and Makoto got to teach Naruto together. Just because he had a few more female aliases, did not mean that he was the better teacher.

"First we need to choose which type you will be. Do you prefer the quiet intellect or the silent diva?" this was a big decision. Kei would base everything off Sakura's answer.

"Why are they both quiet?" The Genin asked. She seemed slightly indignant at the trait.

Kei sighed. "At this stage being as quiet as possible is the best course. You do not know the etiquette of conversation. You do not know the difference between talking to a servant from your seamstress or the gardner. You do not know that you need to speak to a father differently than you speak to a mother- the difference between having a guest in your home, having a suitor in your home, or having dignitary in your home. You need to know how to speak to a business partner, an admirer, and other people. " Kei listed off.

Sakura seemed slightly dazed but Kei pushed on. "Since we are going into this meeting as nobles, the target will expect a certain level of deportment. I can't teach you everything you need to know in the time we have, so instead I will teach you the basics in conversation, but lean heavily towards dress and body language."

Sakura held up a hand to give herself a moment to think. "So... If I talk to someone wrong than the target will know that I am not really a Noble?"

"Yes." Kei answered simply. "We need to go into this mission assuming that the target knows how to classify everyone walking by. They either spent time in a palace or have been taught themselves. One simple gesture, one small misstep, or hurried line could lead us to failure."

Sakura's eyes got large. "If this is so complicated then why were we only given two weeks? Shouldn't the Hokage have given us more time to prepare, to learn?"

"Makoto and I are on a tight schedule. You will just need to listen carefully and remember everything I tell you. This is why I insist you construct a more silent character. The less you talk, the less chance there is for you to misspeak."

Kei was surprised at how quickly the colour drained for Sakura's face. The girl went completely pale, and the small jounin was worried that she might pass out. He might have delivered the information better, but they didn't have time for fluffy words and longer explanations. "Are you okay Sakura-chan?"

"Fine!" Sakura squeaked. "Maybe it would be better if I played a different role. Maybe I could be in the guard with Naruto, or be your personal servant." Sakura suggested.

Kei frowned. "No. This is probably one of the few chances I will have to teach you. Once you learn to impersonate a Noble than other females characters will come easier. There is a level of grace and strength that you need to do this successfully, and that can be carried over to other levels of society." Kei explained.

"So by learning this, it will help with..." Sakura spoke slowly.

"Everything. You can get into any place and gather information. You can slip effortlessly between a Geisha and the rice farmers wife to escape. You can lower your enemies guard and launch surprise attacks."

Sakura nodded along and by the end of Kei's speech, the Genin had developed a determined look. "Right. So we should start right away if I am going to learn as much as possible before we hit Tea."

Kei eye-smiled at her. "Intellect or Diva?" He prompted.

"Intellect." Sakura responded immediately. "I don't think I could pull off the diva as well and if we are short on time than Intellect is a better match." She explained.

Kei frowned. "I think Diva is easier actually. You just need to sniff at things and stick your nose in the air with disdain. With the intellect role you might encounter a smart target that is persistent in engaging you in a conversation." Kei played the devil's advocate. He needed Sakura to be absolutely committed to this role, so he was forced to point out the flaws in both characters to get her to understand.

Sakura steeled her features, and for the first time Kei could see the kunoichi hidden underneath. "Easier isn't always better though. I think I would be a better fit to the intellect for my first mission. I can experiment others afterwards, but I believe in my ability to properly hold a conversation that will support my character." Sakura argued.

Kei nodded. "Good. Now that we have that we can choose the wardrobe you will need." The small Jounin stood and started leading the girl to Kurenai's closet. As far as Kei was concerned, Sakura was finally coming into herself and if she was confident enough in her choice, the debate was over. Once there, Kei opened the door, and pushed the clothes hanging out of the way. Stepping inside, Kei ran his hands over the back wall.

Sakura watched on confused, but kept her mouth shut. Ever since first meeting Kei, she had learned that he was intelligent, no matter how he acted, and that he usually had everything planned before hand.

Kei finally felt the slight indentation that marked the spot, and knocked twice rapidly. He stepped back and watched as a small cloud of dust formed, and the wall slide out slightly. Stepping back in, Kei pushed the wall up and let it fold itself up. Behind the fake wall was another closet, but this time stuffed with organized kimono sets, wigs, jewelry, and shoes.

"This is Kurenai's secret closet, so please don't tell anyone. In here, we will be able to find appropriate clothes for you to wear. For example," Kei picked up one kimono set. "This set would be used when Kurenai runs a sentō. This yukata would be used at night, and this Kimono for receiving guests." Kei pointed to each appropriate piece of clothing. "This set is completely different from the set if she were to run an onsen." Kei pointed out.

Sakura nodded and even took out a notebook, like the one Lee liked to carry, to help keep the important facts.

"Since we are posing as sisters, we need to find you clothing of the same make and material as my own." Kei frowned slightly at that. He had a few sets he could fall back on, but he needed to ensure it would work. They never really discussed how they would approach the target, and Kei knew they should get that out of the way soon. Currently Makoto and Sai were with Naruto at Sai's apartment, and that gave Kei an idea.

"Is something wrong Kei-sensei?" Sakura asked.

Kei smiled at her, even if she couldn't really see it. "No, but we need to talk to the others and get our game plan set before we go any further with clothing. What we will do is get you set up in a wig, and practice walking as we rejoin the others. You need to be able to trick the target and regular people. Practice will be a walk through the village, with you trying to act above your station."

Looking at the assembled wigs, Kei chose a black wig with hair that would reach Sakura's waist and helped Sakura learn how to wear it. With a few hairpins, new shoes -since ninja sandals were a dead giveaway- and a dress, Kei finished the entire look. Nodding to himself Kei stepped back.

"That should be good for now. You will walk around the apartment for a few minutes and get used to everything before we go."

"Yes Kei-sensei." Sakura said hesitantly.

"Now I change." Kei stated before he disappeared.

o.O.o

"Guards are honourable, just, and loyal." Sai lectured Naruto as they sat in his apartment. "They should always put their lives before their Masters. They eat the bare essentials. They wear something signifying the house they come from."

Makoto observed as Naruto tried to pay attention. The poor boy's face was scrunched up, his arms were crossed, and he was squinting at Sai as if trying to dissect him. Makoto was getting ready to step in and save Naruto from Sai's monotone teaching skills, but the overactive blonde beat him to the punch.

"I still don't see it!" Naruto yelled. "I have stared at you for so long but I can't see you as a girl!"

Makoto paused. Naruto hadn't been listening intently, but trying to picture Sai as a girl instead? Well he could not stand for that.

"Naruto! You are supposed to be listening so we can successfully complete our mission!" The bluenette reprimanded the younger ninja. Maybe Makoto was spoiled by being Kei's partner and never needing to actually explain things, well besides sex. He was slowly educating Kei in that area, since Kakashi had managed to turn almost everything into something else. Cleaning rooms? Really?

The blonde had the decency to look sheepish and embarrassed as he scratched the back of his head. "Ah... Sorry Makoto-sensei, But you got to admit, Sai doesn't look like he can pass as a girl."

Makoto rubbed his temples. He had definitely been spoiled with having Kei as a partner. Instead of answering, Makoto waved his hand at Sai and encouraged the pale boy to demonstrate. Sai was quick to pick up his cue and Sai's recognizable empty smile appeared.

Sai walked over and sat beside Naruto. Naruto scooted a little bit away from the pale boy, but Sai wasn't deterred. Sai lowered his head and looked up at Naruto through his lashes. With a girlish giggle, Sai used one hand to lightly trail a path up Naruto's arm. "Oh Naruto-chan." Sai whispered softly into the Genin's ear. "As a ninja you must be so..." The hand started trailing back down, "so strong. Could you give me a personal demonstration?"

The blonde started leaning towards Sai, completely mesmerized by the act. A second later Sai held a kunai to Naruto's throat and in his normal voice said, "Dead."

Naruto was quick to snap out of his daze and scamper away from Sai. "What was that?" Naruto yelled.

"That was Sai being a girl and killing you." Makoto bluntly stated.

Naruto still seemed to be dazed from Sai's seduction as his face fell blank and continued to hide behind the arm of the couch. "Oh."

Makoto wanted to give up. They were getting nowhere by trying to lecture Naruto. The blonde was a more hands on learner. The only way to get Naruto up to scratch would be to take him out and have him practice as a guardsmen. Not a ninja guarding someone, but a guard specific to one family, and completely loyal to them. Looking out the window, Makoto smiled. It seemed as if a chance had appeared.

"It looks like we have some visitors. Should we go greet them Sai?" Makoto asked.

Sai stood up and approached the window, quickly followed by Naruto. Looking down there were two females approaching the complex. The taller one had black hair with bangs that framed her face. She wore a simple dress, and had little to no make-up on. The other girl was shorter with her blonde hair styled in to a simple braid and side swiped bangs. She wore a multicoloured yukata and walked a few steps behind the older girl.

"It's only proper." Sai responded.

"Do you know them?" Naruto asked as he followed the older boys down the stairs and onto the street.

"We will get to know them." Makoto answered mysteriously. The oldest shinobi took the lead and confidently walked up to the girls. "Afternoon ladies, how are you on this fine day?"

The older girl saw Makoto's charming smile and promptly blushed while the younger merely giggled. As it seemed like the taller girl was too flustered to answer, the younger girl stepped forward and smiled. "We are doing well Onii-san. Is the day treating you well?"

Naruto wasn't sure if he fully understood. They were supposed to preparing for a mission and Makoto was hitting on some girls? Naruto didn't know that Makoto's taste ran so...young. Did the jounin not know what responsibility was? "Um... Makoto-sensei shouldn't we finish preparing for the mission?" Naruto asked trying to get his teachers attention back.

Makoto ignored him though as he was engaged in conversation with the younger girl. The girl was smiling widely, and Naruto thought there was something off about her. Her smile wasn't quite right, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"W-what mission, if you don't mind me asking." The other girl asked.

Naruto was surprised that she seemed to have gotten close to him without him noticing. Looking at the newcomer, Naruto felt himself blush and without warning the first thing that popped into his head, come out of his mouth. "You're prettier than Sakura-chan!" Naruto announced.

The unknown girl's face contorted with rage and she raised a single clenched fist. "I am Sakura!" the girl screamed as she punched Naruto in the face and sent him flying.

Kei giggled at the sight of a beaten Naruto crawling to Sakura's feet. While he sure Naruto didn't mean to say what he did, it was still humorous to the smallest shinobi. Kei quickly transformed back into his normal self before Naruto could focus properly. Turning to Makoto, Kei told his partner why they were there.

"I just wanted to iron out identities before we go any further, and to remind you that we have to meet some people 10 minutes ago." Kei stated.

Makoto frowned. "Probably best."

When Naruto become aware again, Sai ushered the poor boy back into his apartment with everyone else. Kei and Makoto were quick to assign characters and duties before they prepared to leave.

"You're leaving? But were not done. There's still a list of supplies to buy." Naruto protested.

"True." Makoto conceded.

Kei smiled. "Why doesn't Naruto practice his character while he escorts Sakura out to do the shopping? Sai can tail them and make notes of Naruto's performance to report back to us when we meet up again." Kei suggested.

Naruto frowned. "What are you going to do?"

Makoto smiled mysteriously as he placed a hand on Kei's shoulder. "Kill some demons hunters."

"And get treats." Kei added.

"Yes." Makoto nodded. "Kill demon hunters and get some dango and pudding."

Naruto and Sakura sweat-dropped at the announcement. These idiots were teaching them?

"Right... have fun with that." Sakura said hesitantly.

o.O.o

The group waiting for Kei and Makoto at the gate weren't very impressed when they did arrive.

"Sorry we're late. We were helping a young girl with her hair." Kei explained.

"It was a terrible mess to straighten out." Makoto added.

"And her friend didn't help. He only cried."

"Just shows what doing a good deed does."

Kei and Makoto kept up solemn expressions as they explained. They didn't want the jounin to think bad of them, since they would have to work together. It didn't seem to matter as Inoichi stepped forward.

"It's quite alright. We are already well aware of the Hatake...habits. We should finish up quickly so we can be on our way." He prompted.

Kei nodded seriously, and stood taller to get this mission going. "The Hokage has given everyone the location to the meeting place, and you have all sworn not to reveal any information pertaining to this mission. The only thing left is for you to be warned. When you arrive, you will meet two individuals who you will probably think are dead. They aren't and they are there to help, so please don't attack first."

Makoto took over. "Since this is such a delicate mission and that you will probably try to teach your children along the way, Kei has agreed to lend you a ninken to keep an extra eye out for any danger. Another set of ninken will travel ahead of you to deliver a message."

"If you cross paths with the leading ninken, be extra wary. They either sense great danger, or are being chased. Run, hide, and don't try to help them. If they encounter something that will deter you, they will let you know so you can adjust your path accordingly. They know what they need to do. Your only mission is to get to the meeting spot safely and on time." Kei stated.

"Does everyone understand?" Makoto asked the assembled group.

Ino, the only girl in the group, stepped forward. "But if the lead dog is in trouble then shouldn't we help it so it can deliver whatever message you are sending?" She asked.

Kei gave her an eye-smile. "Ranmaru is faster than any ninja I or they have ever encountered. They can fight, but they are masters at escaping. If they do need help, then they will ask for it, but that probably won't happen."

Seeing no other questions lingering, Kei took out his summoning scroll. Cutting his thumb on a kunai, Kei quickly summoned three of his ninken. "This is Pico." Kei pointed to his little pug. "He can talk so you will have no trouble understanding him. These are Ranmaru," The twin white dogs perked up at their name. "They will be the lead ninken."

After the introductions, Kei bent down to talk to Pico quietly. He informed his smallest ninken of his mission, and the parameters around it. Next, he turned to Ranmaru and attached a message to both of them. He gave them very detailed instructions on where to find their targets, and what they looked like. He even described their individual smells in case they were in disguise.

"I think that's everything we needed to talk about. We will see you soon." Makoto happily announced.

"Ranmaru, go!" Kei commanded. The twins shot out the gate faster than the Genin and Chuunin could catch. The other Jounin had been able to see a little of their exit, but the speed still surprised them.

"Wow..." Choji trailed off, a chip half raised to his mouth.

Kei frowned. "Maybe I should train them a little more. They looked slower than before."

Makoto chuckled and led his partner away. "You will have all the time to train them after this mission. Sayonara Ino-Shika-Cho's."

o.O.o

Zabuza plotted on how to kill that little bright-eyed white haired demon that was posing as a Konoha shinobi. That little brat had somehow conned Zabuza into helping him on some suicide mission, and now he was stuck in some shitty little house with nothing to do by freeze his balls off because Haku insisted on training, indoors.

"Just get the fuck outside and use your ice there!" he yelled at his apprentice.

"I can't Zabuza-sama. We were warned that going outside could reveal our presence and the fact that we are still alive. Until then, I must practice in here." Haku calmly explained again for the umpteenth time.

"I'm fucking tired of this shit! I'm colder than your fucking ice, and I can't even get a blanket because that little shit didn't leave us any, and we can't go outside. You won't stop practicing so the only thing keeping me warm is thoughts of chopping that fucking little albino bastards head off and wondering how warm his blood would be. He's fucking dead when he gets here!" Zabuza declared.

Haku reluctantly let his ice mirrors fade as he walked towards Zabuza. "You won't kill him. But if you are so cold you can borrow my pink yukata." It was the best Haku could do.

"I'm not wearing that fucking girly piece of fabric!" Zabuza roared. "I rather freeze than lower myself to that."

Haku sighed. "You are being a child. I will stop practicing and let the house warm up, but no killing Kei-san, and no more bad comments about my clothes." Haku declared.

Zabuza kept his mouth shut but he still glared at Haku from his seated position. He was still very upset about being abandoned in a house with nothing.

o.O.o

"So Dad..." Ino started as to break the silence that descended as soon as they left Konoha.

"Don't talk about it sweetie." Inoichi responded right away.

"About what? I haven't said anything." Ino pouted.

"But you were going to. Once you leave the Konoha gates you should never talk about an S-class mission unless you certain that you cannot be overhead. Even then it's frowned upon since you should have settled most details while in the village."

"It's so troublesome making plans up on the spot. Preparedness is your best friend out here." Shikaku spoke up from the front.

"You should remember you are only coming to observe. Any questions you have can wait until we reach our destination or when we arrive back at Konoha." Choza's voice boomed from the back.

"That wasn't what I was going to ask!" Ino protested.

"Oh?" Inoichi was curious.

"She wants to learn the Yamanaka Clan Telepathy." Shikamaru spoke up. "She doesn't shut up about one day learning it."

"It's true. She's almost obsessed with it." Choji supported his friend.

Inoichi laughed. "Well, what my daughter wants to learn, I shall teach."

"Oh man." Shikamaru groaned. "The last thing I want is Ino to have the ability to pester me without talking."

Shikaku laughed at his son. "Just try not to think about it." He suggested.

"How?"

Shikaku took a moment to think before he smirked. "17-4 upper right corner- komoku*."

Shikamaru sighed. "Troublesome father. 2-15."

"16-17, lower right corner- komoku."

o.O.o

When Kei and his group finally left the village, Kei felt a headache coming on. Sakura and Naruto had been bickering non-stop since their shopping trip, and the only explanation that Sai had, was that Sakura didn't approve of Naruto's food choices. Kei couldn't wait until they hit their first post village to slip into their disguises.

As the bickering went on, it started really getting to Kei. After all his planning, Tsunade decided to be cruel and throw a few extra people in, and then send him on mission that wasn't needed. She was adding more work and stress on the little jounin. His emotions were acting up lately and affecting him and now Kei just couldn't take it. "Shut up, both of you!" He snapped. "As ninja's you should sneak in and out of the village quietly. You shouldn't draw unnecessary attention to yourself, and most importantly you're giving me a headache."

The two Genin went deadly quiet. It was a relief to Kei. "Honestly, you would think that after being a Genin for a year you would have learned to get along, or at least to be quiet. I don't know what the bloody hell their teaching students at the academy but clearly it's not how to survive as long as possible. We should just tape their mouths shut for the remainder of this mission, and then maybe we can get things done." Kei muttered darkly to himself.

Makoto smiled patiently. Kei was having these mood swings more frequently. The usually controlled and happy Kei would suddenly snap or tear up. Makoto had walked into his office one night to see tears running down Kei's face because his little partner had found the dango recipe Makoto picked up, and given a copy to the house elves at Hogwarts. Kei was apparently so touched that his partner would do that so he wouldn't suffer from dango withdrawal that he couldn't stop crying.

They respectively decided not to tell Tsunade about Kei's personality problems.

"I'm sure Naruto and Sakura will try harder to get along from now on. But Kei, remember how I was teaching you about sexual tension between two people?" Makoto asked innocently.

Both Genin blushed deeply at the implications while Kei was bemused.

"Makoto...sexual tension is that weird feeling that happens when Nii-san is near Ayame-san right? And what happens with Kurenai and Asuma...?" Kei asked. His anger from before instantly gone.

"Yes Kei. And sexual tension is present when a certain someone is near you."

Kei pouted. "But you won't tell me who!"

Makoto just chuckled. "Of course not. You need to discover that by yourself."

"I am not attracted to Naruto!" Sakura yelled, being the first to recover.

"I said be quiet!" Kei snapped at her, his appearance looking more dark and menacing than it had a second before. The switch was instant when Kei looked back to the bluenette. "But why can't you tell me?"

Makoto chuckled again. "Because it will be much better for you to discover on your own. I'm sure they are willing to wait for you to catch on."

The conversation died there. Kei ignored the Genin as they travelled, Sai congratulated Makoto on distracting the smallest shinobi, and Naruto and Sakura were still mentally arguing with themselves over their feelings and the apparent sexual tension.

o.O.o

When night fell and the group finally stopped traveling, Kei crawled into Makoto's sleeping bag and sprawled on top of his partner. "Should I apologize?" he asked quietly.

"No. They were being annoying and if you hadn't snapped first I'm sure I would have." Makoto explained.

"But I was still a bit harsh."

Makoto hummed."True, but they aren't always going to be treated nicely by shinobi, even ones from their own village. They were quiet after that and that's all that counts. You can't keep beating yourself up over this problem. Your emotions are wavering and unbalanced. We don't know how to stop that and Rikoto had no clue either. We will cope the best we can." Makoto soothed his partner.

"I just don't want to snap at you one day for no reason." Kei confessed.

"You haven't yet so let's assume you won't." The blunette ran a comforting hand through Kei's hair. "Now sleep. We will need all the rest possible to deal with the Genin tomorrow."

Kei giggled quietly, before he closed his eyes to sleep.

Sai snuck away once he was sure the pair were done talking. He knew what was going on, He knew everything, but he was the back-up plan. If things went wrong Sai would step in and help, but until then he was a shadow. He listened and watched but never acted. But this one time, he was going to act.

Sai approached the Genin. They had first patrol that night, while Sai had second. He sat down near them and waited until they gave him their attention. "Did you need something Sai-san?" Sakura asked.

Sai nodded. "I would like you both to forgive Kei-san for his harsh tone earlier."

Naruto puffed up in anger. "Why? He could have asked nicely but instead he was rude." Sai carefully stored the reaction away for later contemplation. It seemed that Naruto was still bitter towards Kei.

"Kei and Makoto are currently on break from a long and very stressful mission. Kei adores his older brother but hasn't been allowed to see or interact with Kakashi-sama for a long time. Being in Konoha but being denied access his brother is hard. He returned home this morning only to be forced on this mission without warning. Would you be in pleasant mood after such circumstances?" Sai knew that wasn't the reason but he had recently read the newest Master Satoshi novel and Satoshi had snapped at one of his friend after a long absence from the game he loved. People seemed so attached to objects and people, that Sai decided to use that reasoning to explain away Kei's actions.

It seemed to be working as Sakura seemed sad on Kei's behalf, and Naruto was less puffy. "That's terrible." Sakura whispered.

"Right. So please excuse his behaviour. It's hard to be gone so long and not see the person you love the most when you return. It would be like you Naruto not seeing Iruka-sensei for months on end."

"I still don't think I would snap at people." Naruto said petulantly.

"Maybe not." Sai smiled. "But you are neither on a long term mission or Kei. Kei may be old in many ways but in others, he is still young and naive. He still needs a human teddy bear at night, he still likes rewards, and he still admires his brother above everyone else." The pale boy explained.

"So he's not this all mighty shinobi that everyone makes him out to be. So what?" Naruto scoffed.

Sai sighed this time. "Kei alone is a great shinobi, but all his major feats and victories were achieved with Makoto. They have a strong partnership. You take one away and it's like making a rice ball with only rice. It's just not right."

"I think I understand." Sakura spoke up. "Earlier when Kei snapped, Makoto was able to calm him immediately. When Makoto leaves off an explanation, Kei is there to pick it up and vice versa. They're..." she trailed off trying to find the right word.

"Harmonious." Sai supplied.

"Yes..." Sakura stared at him.

"So if they are a rice ball, then what part are you? The nori or..." Naruto prompted.

"Sai smiled. "I'm the sesame seed. Not needed but very much appreciated."

Sakura gasped in horror, so Sai was quick to explain. "Kei and Makoto were together long before I joined them. They already developed a system and awareness of each other. With constantly being split up, it's hard to create a level of teamwork that is on par with their current level. I don't mind. They have their teamwork, but I have independence from them. It's hard for them to work alone."

"So you're not upset or lonely?" Sakura asked.

"No." Was the simple answer.

Naruto scrunched up his face in thought. "So if one died, what would the other do?"

Sai wasn't sure if he should answer that. Anyone who observed the partners would be able to answer that question, but it was just never voiced. Maybe it was time. "The other would fade." The air got heavy with that announcement so Sai took that as his sign to leave. "Have a good watch, and I shall see you when you wake me for mine."

As Sai walked away, it was silently agreed between all parties involved to keep that conversation a secret. It had no reason to be repeated or expanded on. Sai had done his job. He had given the Genin a reason to start to tear down the wall they built between themselves and Kei and Makoto. He had presented them with a chance to take initiative, but he would have to wait to see if they actually took the opportunity.

o.O.o

As the group approached the Tea border, Makoto called a halt to the procession. The carriage they acquired along the way stopped, and the two 'Noble Lady's' stepped out in full costume. Sakura had kept the long black wig, and had put in coloured contacts to obtain dark brown eyes. Kei was dressed similarly, but he wore a light blue contact and used another hair ribbon to trap his bangs in place over his eye. He also liked to carry a fan to deviously hide his face from Naruto. Sakura already got a glimpse, but he had already informed her that he looked nothing like Kakashi under the mask.

When Kei was completely out of the carriage, he took a moment to search the surroundings. He pushed his hearing and noise to their full potential and searched for anybody that could be watching them. Sensing nothing, Kei opened his eyes and signaled to Sai and Naruto to do a perimeter search just in case. Plus, Naruto needed to learn how to do them properly. Together the two took off, and Kei turned to Makoto.

"Lunch and a short rest?"

"Yes My Lady. If we keep at our current pace then we should reach the first town in Tea by nightfall." Makoto explained. They were trying to teach the Genin to stay in character even when alone. So far it was going well.

"What are we having for lunch?" Kei asked.

"I'm not sure My Lady, but Sai said you would enjoy it very much. I will start the fire while we wait for him to return."

Kei was going to respond but he stopped when he heard an unknown person approaching from the left. They were travelling quickly, and Kei turned his ear to hear better. He was the only one that could hear the approach, but the in known person was moving closer and closer to Sai and Naruto. He hoped they would be fine, since he couldn't warn them without blowing his cover. Makoto seemed to know that something was wrong though since the bluenette was standing ready to go and join the other two.

A wind swept through the campsite and brought with it a familiar smell. Once it hit Kei's nose, he knew there was going to be trouble, Kei sprung up and was racing towards to tree line and the unknown person. He needed to intercept them before Naruto saw.

When a shout rang through the forest, Kei cursed under his breath. Kei was only glad that Sakura's hearing wasn't as good as his, because he knew she didn't hear Naruto's surprised exclamation of "Sasuke".

* * *

**OMAKE**

_Hatake Rule #2: Doors are Evil._

The second rule was the rule that Louis thought he would have the most trouble with. How was he supposed to avoid doors altogether? But then he remembered that Kei doesn't avoid the all the time either... so he got to thinking. And when Louis Pucey thinks... weird things happen.

Louis watched Kei carefully. He watched how the smallest badger walked through doors, how he avoided going first or last, how the little puff would speed through some doorways and walk slower through others. Where there tricks to certain doors? After class one day, Louis lost sight of Kei, so he started looking around for his small friend and that's when he noticed something. There was a rope hanging from the common room window! Kei would climb out the windows!

Louis brushed it off... he wasn't going to climb a rope. The youngest Pucey turned to walk out the common room and search for Kei elsewhere, but an older student was coming through first. Louis stopped, and just as the older student walked through the door a bucket of green goo dropped on his head.

Louis was going to learn to climb that rope.

* * *

*They are playing Go. In their minds because they are genius like that.

**Battle Royale!** (Imagine a Morgan Freeman voice over)

Results from last chapter: **Remus-36,** Tei-6, Shizune- 14/ **Gaara-49**, Tie-2, Dumbles-7

Now this chapters battle, plus a new opinion question...

Who is more motherly? Iruka vs. Molly Weasley.

Opinion: What would happen if someone glued catnip to Kei while at Hogwarts? (Thanks Nanashi Tsurunaji)

**update: Harry Hat Box Social by Ireadtomuch is up, and the first chapter features Kei


	42. Chapter 42

**Disclaimer**: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

**Warnings:** _Language, OC'ness, Het, Slash, twists and turns, fluff, smut, and abuse to the author, Loss of Kei's cuteness._

_**Beta:**__ FEARMEfrancis_

**Naughty Naruto**

"Sasuke!"

Kei mentally cursed every bad word that he had ever heard in Japanese and English, and possibly some German that Louis had taught him. He couldn't believe this happened. He had made a very specific schedule for everyone to follow to arrive at the meetinghouse. How was it falling apart already? This entire mission seemed doomed from the start.

Jumping through the trees, Kei quickly caught up to see Naruto chasing after Sasuke. Sai was on his heels, and the little shinobi could tell that the pale boy was wondering whether to tackle Sasuke and keep in character or take down Naruto and let Sasuke have a clean get away. Kei solved the problem for him, when he rushed past and quickly yelled "Take Naruto!"

Sai didn't waste time and quickly took the blonde to the ground. Naruto's curses were muffled by dirt, but Kei didn't care. He angled himself and pushed hard off a tree branch. The momentum took him over Sasuke's head and when the missing-nin looked up, Kei dived down and wrapped his arms and legs around the older boy. The force was too great and together they tumbled to the ground and rolled under a bush. Kei ended up on top and he swiftly pinned the Uchiha's arms above his head.

Leaning down he frantically asked, "Are you being followed?" It would just be his luck that Orochimaru or one of his henchmen was tailing Sasuke.

"No. I lost them yesterday."Sasuke responded. Kei felt some tension leave his body as he slumped against his friend. He rested his forehead against Sasuke's chest for a moment before he sat up and stared down seriously.

"Is that why you're a day ahead of schedule?"

Sasuke frowned. "No. I'm right on schedule. You're the ones that are late. Of course, Hatake's are known for being late. I just didn't think it applied on missions as well."

Something wasn't right. Kei wasn't late. The schedule he drew up stated that today was their day to pass through the area. The other three Konoha Jounin had the day before, Sasuke had tomorrow, and Itachi would have the day after that. They would arrive at scattered times and days to throw off any would be trackers, and then wait out at the safe house for the rest of the party. Even though Kei, Makoto, and their group were one of the first to reach the area they were meant to be the last to arrive at the meeting point since they would be conducting the side mission in another part of Tea Country.

"Can I see your schedule?" The Uchiha squirmed a little and Kei realized that it probably wasn't helpful that he was straddling the older boys waist. Standing up, Kei brushed himself off and waited for Sasuke to retrieve the schedule from somewhere. Once he had the paper, he compared it to his own. "Well... that's a problem." He stated.

Sasuke walked around him so he could read over his shoulder, and Kei adjusted the two papers to give the other boy a better view, but he strategically covered Itachi's name. Where Kei's schedule had everyone's name and time they are to arrive in which checkpoints, Sasuke's just said 'Party 1, Party 2, Party 3: Kei and Ko, Sasuke, Party 5-'. In the spot on Kei's that said 'Kei and Ko!' Sasuke's own name was there.

"Do you think this is just ours or does everyone have a messed up schedule." Sasuke asked.

That question sent a large wave of dread through Kei. He hoped and prayed that it was just theirs, but he doubted it. His current record of accomplishment was telling him that everything was going to go wrong. So Kei decided to treat it that way. "I doubt it. At this point, we can only wing it and hope that no one else meets or is seen. I rather not have my allies killing each other off. Right now our main problem is that Naruto has seen you."

"That bastard..." Sasuke muttered under his breath.

"Hmm..." Kei hummed as he tried to think of a plan. He couldn't let Sakura see Sasuke, and he really couldn't let Naruto go since the blonde would no doubt tell Sakura that the Uchiha was alive. He couldn't kill Naruto since he was supposed to be training him for Hokage, and the blonde's trust in him was shaky at best, so he couldn't ask for an oath of silence. The blonde would never shake his hand. Plus, Kei couldn't waste any more time. His absence would worry Makoto and his partner would come searching with Sakura on his heels.

"Okay, this is what we'll do. We will grab Naruto and take him to the safe house. We can explain there and then further plan." Kei nodded to himself and was preparing to leave but Sasuke grabbed his arm and pulled him against the older boy's chest.

"Hey now, slow down a little." Sasuke softly stated. He wrapped his arm around Kei and raised his free hand to smooth out a wrinkle between Kei's brows. "If you don't take a relaxing breath once in awhile all this stress will put you in an early grave. The situation is bad, but salvageable."

Kei leaned into his friend and let the familiar warmth and scent wash over him. He could feel some more tension leaving his body and his scattered mind from moments ago was slowly reconnecting and healing. It was nice to be near Sasuke again. They had spent a lot of time together growing up, even if Sasuke had thought he was a girl ghost named Yuki at the time. After a few seconds, Kei could finally accept the older boy's words that the situation was salvageable.

"Let's go." The jounin stated as he pulled away. He could hear Naruto's protests getting louder and louder the longer he was trapped under Sai, so it wasn't hard to find the duo. Once Kei and Sauke arrived, Kei nodded to Sai to let the blonde up.

Naruto jumped to his feet and rushed to Sasuke. He pushed Kei and away and placed his body in between the Uchiha and Hatake. "Sasuke run! They want to kill you!" Naruto yelled. It was cute how the blonde was desperately trying to help his old teammate, though it was completely unnecessary.

The Uchiha merely rolled his eyes and raised a fist and hit Naruto on the back of the head. "Idiot..."

"Bastard!" Naruto whined as he cradled his head. "I'm just trying to help you here." He pouted.

"Naruto, if they were trying to kill me, Kei would have killed me when he tackled me to the ground." Sasuke pointed out.

Naruto looked around bewildered. "But then... but... Kei-teme and Baa-san said that you were dead...I thought they were lying to cover up that Kei-teme couldn't kill you." The blonde argued.

Kei frowned. Had that really been Naruto's thoughts since that mission? That would explain why he threw himself into training. He had thought it was for Sakura's benefit or a desire to become stronger so he wouldn't lose another comrade. He hadn't expected Naruto's motivation to be the urge to save Sasuke from Kei.

"Did they actually say I was dead or that they were trying to kill me? Kei found me to ask me to be a spy. I have never been or will ever be in any actual danger from him." Sasuke seemed to revert back to his condescending attitude around Naruto. It was a very natural progression and if the situation wasn't so serious Kei would have found it funny.

"So..." Naruto looked like he needed a moment to fully grasp the situation.

"Sai, can you return to Makoto and tell him that I'm taking Naruto to solve a small problem that's appeared? We will meet at the designated city but he can use this time to find the group and hopefully stall for time by stating that Sakura's sister will be meeting up with them in a few days. I'm sure he can think of an adequate excuse."

"Do you think you will be alright with them?" Sai asked as he warily looked at the two old teammates.

Kei looked around and saw that Naruto was still floundering around trying to understand what was happening, and Sasuke was chuckling at the blonde's antics. "I think I'll be just fine."

After Sai left, Naruto seemed to have come back to himself. The youngest Hatake wasn't sure what he was expecting when Naruto finally understood what was happening, but it wasn't for the blonde to madly rush the Uchiha and punch the missing-nin in the face and yell at him.

"You fucking bastard! I thought you were dead or running for your life and you're really just hiding out in comfort. I was scared that a Konoha shinobi would find you one day and the news that you were really dead would get back to the village!"

"You're such an idiot!" Sasuke yelled. "I've been stuck with Orochimaru, how is that any better than constantly running for my life?" The pissed Uchiha rubbed his jaw and glared at Naruto.

That revelation seemed to calm Naruto's ire, but no one was quite sure that the blonde would do.

"Now that this touching reunion is out of the way we need to go." Kei commanded. They needed to get to the safe house. "Naruto you can either come quietly or I will gag and tie you and carry you there."

That brought Naruto's attention and anger on Kei. "You! You lied to me and Sakura. She deserves to know that Sasuke is alive. I'm not going anywhere until we tell her." He demanded.

Kei sighed. Naruto made his choice. In a blink of an eye, Kei had the blonde Genin tied up and silenced. They needed to go fast and he rather not fight the boy or argue with him over the merits of informing Sakura about her old teammates life.

"Not going to happen." Kei whispered to the blonde as he lifted the boy onto his back. With that he signaled for Sasuke to take the lead and followed the Uchiha throw the trees and onto their destination.

o.O.o

They had only been travelling an hour when Kei sensed another person approaching. He stopped suddenly, jarring Naruto, and caught Sasuke's attention.

"Can you identify them?" Sasuke asked.

Kei shook his head. He needed the person to get closer so he could get their under-scent. So far he just heard them, but his nose was out of range. It was a second later that a breeze brought the persons scent straight to Kei's nose.

"No! No no no!" Kei cried. He would recognize that smell anywhere. "This is bad."

Kei looked at Sasuke and frowned. "Sasuke." He whispered seriously. "Someone is going to come through those trees soon and I need you to stay calm. Whatever you do, do _not_ attack them."

"I'll try." Sasuke said.

Kei dropped down to the ground and placed Naruto at the base of a tree. He turned towards the approaching party and stated very clearly to Sasuke, "Sasuke, I need to know that you won't attack him."

The Uchiha dropped down beside him and stares at his friends face in concern. "Kei-" but any promise Sasuke was going to make was caught off when Itachi appeared suddenly in front of them. The oldest Uchiha stopped and stared at them, his face showed nothing but his eyes showed his confusion.

Kei gently placed a hand on Sasuke's arm and turned towards the boy to see his reaction.

Sasuke was frozen. His mouth and eyes were open in surprise and he was only staring at his older brother. Kei could understand the shock. Where Kei got to meet Itachi yearly, this was the first time that Sasuke would see his brother since that night of the massacre.

"Kei-kun... what's going on?" Itachi asked. His eyes didn't leave his brother as he addressed Kei.

"I need to see your schedule." Kei needed this figured out.

Itachi removed his schedule from a pocket with one hand tossed it towards Kei. It seemed like the young man wasn't willing to move any closer in fear of his brothers reaction. Kei caught the scroll and opened it to see exactly what he was expecting. Itachi's schedule had him arriving on the same day. It was too much for a single mistake, which meant that a certain blonde haired Hokage was playing with him.

"That's it! We're done with this mission. It's been bad from the start and now it's only worse." Kei declared, snapping the two brothers from their daze. Kei held up a hand to ward off any questions from the brothers so he could work.

Kei quickly summoned Ranmaru and Pico. He wrote a simple note to Zabuza and Haku saying 'Abort. Reply with safe co-ords' and attached it to one of the twins. He used a blank piece of paper, put that on the other twin, and then pulled a piece of fabric form his hip pouch. It was a piece of Zabuza's pants that Kei had taken in case he needed to track the man. He let Ranmaru sniff the fabric and sent them off. Pico was sent after the Ino-Shika-Cho teams and told to deliver the verbal message of 'Go Home', after Kei had pulled another fabric piece, but this one with Shikaku's scent.

Kei didn't know Tsunade's real reason for sending them, but it couldn't have just been to observe. If anything she probably sent them to exterminate what she possibly saw as loose ends. Zabuza and Haku had been kind and helpful to Kei and Makoto, and they may be missing-nin that tried to take over their old village, but Kei trusted them enough in this, and he refused to allow a plan to go through if it put them both in danger.

When they got back to Konoha, he was going to have some very strong and angry words with the Hokage over her actions. She would not ruin the relationships he had forged and she would not ruin his final mission in killing the Akatsuki. Kei didn't think he had ever been this furious before at a single person.

The little Hatake looked towards the two Uchiha brothers that were quietly watching him, and he sighed – a great heavy sigh that was full of remorse and stress. He wished he could go back to Sasuke's arms and have the older boy rub the worry lines off his face again, but he knew he didn't have that option at the moment. He needed them both to leave and then he needed to take a stunned Naruto to the safe house and explain everything to the blonde.

"Go both of you. I will find a way to contact you both at a later date, but this mission isn't safe anymore." Kei stated.

Itachi stepped forward and dropped a comforting hand on Kei's shoulder. "It was hard to get away from Kisame, I may not be able to next time. I shall try, but no promises."

"I understand. Just be safe, please?" Kei begged with his eye. He couldn't stand to lose Itachi before he died. "And Itachi..." Kei made a decision. He had hoped that the meeting could have been used to discuss this and make better informed and thought out plans, but since that was shot he was going with instinct. Itachi would have a hard to time getting away and he needed to know his target.

Itachi walked over to him and Kei stood on his toes to get as close to the young man's ear as he could "When the time comes your target is Nagato. Take this time to plan on how to kill him."

Itachi turned his head and stared Kei n the eye. "Who will take Kohan? They are always together." He asked.

Kei frowned. "I don't know." He admitted.

"I think I may have someone I can ask. I will ask for a meeting with you when I get an answer." Itachi stated.

"I trust you." Kei whispered. The jounin stepped back and away from Itachi, letting the man leave.

"Thank you. You stay safe too." Itachi turned but he hesitated before he walked towards Sasuke. It must have been awkward for the brothers meeting like this again after so long, so Kei turned away to give them a semblance of privacy. "Sasuke, take care of yourself." Itachi whispered.

A moment later and Itachi's chakra had left them completely. Kei turned and watched as Sasuke struggled for a moment. The youngest Uchiha looked like he wasn't sure if he should smile or scowl at his brother's actions. Finally he just grunted. "He better stay alive until we meet again. I have a lot of questions for him." Sasuke stated simply as he refused to look in Kei's direction.

"Sasuke..."

Sasuke pierced Kei with his eyes. "I have done a lot for you and Konoha, but if it ever comes down to loyalty... I will always pick you. I don't know what happened today but someone is working against you, and I need you to know I will follow you."

Kei raised his hand to reach from Sasuke, but quickly dropped it. He couldn't allow himself his usual comforts with Naruto around. The boy was clearly loyal to Konoha and Tsunade and he rather not give Naruto any more information to feed the woman.

"Thank you." Kei whispered sincerely. Just like with Itachi, Kei stepped close to prevent Naruto from hearing. "Orochimaru. I need you to kill him, but not until were ready."

Sasuke sighed and the wrapped Kei up in his arms. "I understand. Now I'll escort you to the safe house, because I'm sure you will get lost along the way. Then I'll leave you to talk to Naruto."

Kei giggled and nodded. One day he would overcome this direction issue.

o.O.o

The trip was quiet. It wasn't until they were reaching the house that Sasuke spoke. "I will leave you here. The house should be a hundred yards in front of us."

Kei nodded. He could sense seven chakra signatures coming from the houses direction. "Thank you for this. I promise to get in contact with you soon."

"Hn." Sasuke cast a final glance at Naruto and then disappeared.

Left alone with the blonde, Kei made his way towards the house. Outside the Ino-Shika-Cho teams were waiting for him while Pico was off to the side, soaking up the sun.

"I thought you would return to Konoha after my message." Kei spoke up. The group turned towards him. The jounin gave him funny looks, while the Genin were staring at the bundle on his back. Pico perked up though.

"Boss!" The hyper pug yelled as it raced towards him. "I delivered the message like you wanted but they didn't want to listen to me. They kept trying to shoo me away but when that wasn't working they tried questioning me but all I told them was the message, nothing more or less." The little pug's tail was wagging so fast it was like a brown fan behind him.

"Thank you Pico. You can go home now." Kei reached down and scratched the pug behind the ears just before it went poof and was gone in a cloud of smoke.

"I-is that Naruto?" Ino asked.

Kei stared straight at her. "Yes."

"Why is he tied up?" she asked.

Kei eye smiled at the group. "Hokage training."

"Shouldn't you let him go now?" Shikaku asked.

Kei wanted to frown, but he kept his eye smile going. He wasn't letting Naruto go until they were gone. They didn't need to know that they met Sasuke and Itachi on the way. "Were not done yet. Don't worry, just go home, and you can tell Tsunade-sama that I am taking her missions very seriously." To prove a point Kei dropped Naruto on the ground harshly. The boy grunted, but Kei didn't pay attention. "Character building."

"Before we go, I think you should tell us why you abandoned the meeting..." Inoichi trailed off.

Naruto started struggling; clearly trying to tell the others that he had something to say, but Kei kicked him. "I discovered a severe complication to the mission and used my better judgment to cancel it to prevent any irreversible damage from occurring."

Inoichi frowned. "Could you be more descriptive?"

"No." Kei answered sharply. "I think you should leave before you lose the light."

The Jounin seemed wary to leave, and the Genin were confused. To them it was probably a novel experience to see someone talk to their fathers like that. Kei narrowed his eye as he saw the Jounin exchange looks. He wanted to know what those looks meant, but he didn't know the well enough to venture a guess.

"We'll go. Just be careful Hatake-kun." Choza announced for the group.

Kei only nodded and watched the group the entire time until he could no longer see them, and their chakra faded.

Sighing at the entire situation, Kei retrieved Naruto and brought the boy inside. Once he was sure that the doors and windows were secure, Kei let the blonde go.

"What's going on?" Naruto screamed as soon as his mouth was able. "First Sasuke is a spy and then Itachi, his murdering bastard brother appears, and you talked to them both like it was an everyday thing, and then there's a secret meeting with Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji's dad with them there. You are planning something?" The Genin's chest was heaving up and down from the exertion and he glared at Kei with all his worth.

"Something like that." Kei answered.

"I want answers!" Naruto demanded.

Kei leaned against a wall but kept a safe distance between them in case Naruto decided to attack. "I will answer as truthfully as I can." Kei promised. "There was a secret meeting that was to take place here in a few days, but as you seen, the people involved started meeting before it was time. That doesn't mean anything good for me or the mission.

"Before we leave here you will swear an oath to me that you will reveal anything you learn. Nothing about Sasuke, Itachi, this secret mission anything. You can't tell a soul, especially not Sakura, you can't drop hints, make vague references, write it down, use hand gestures, nothing. Am I clear?" Kei said in a very stern voice.

Naruto grunted and looked away. "Why should I promise anything? I should warn the entire village that you are consorting with missing-nin."

Kei scowled at the boy. "Itachi and Sasuke are both still working for Konoha. They are in very delicate positions were they can feed us information on certain enemies. When Sound tried to invade the village, Itachi was able to get me a warning a few days before that helped save the Third Hokage's life. Are you willing to blow their cover and get both killed, and break Konoha's only connection to some very powerful nuke-nin?"

Naruto hesitated, so Kei took that as a signal to continue. "Tsunade sent you on this mission so we could begin training you to be Hokage, but I wonder if that was her only motivation?"

"What?"

"Nothing... now you're going to come over here and grab my hand and repeat after me." Kei offered his hand to the boy and waited from him to come over. Naruto walked slowly, eyeing Kei's hand and the jounin's face, clearly not wanting to approach. Kei waved his hand lazily and said, "Come on...if you take it then you get to know lots of interesting secrets..."

The trick was working since Naruto looked like he was mentally arguing with himself. Finally the blonde gave in and grabbed Kei's hand roughly.

"I, your name, swear that I will not reveal to anyone or anything what I learn today about Uchiha, Sasuke, Uchiha, Itachi, village secrets, or about Hatake, Kei in any verbal, mental, or physical way." Kei pierced the boy with his eye, silently commanding him to repeat the oath.

"I, Uzumaki, Naruto, swear that I will not reveal to anyone or anything what I learn today about Uchiha, Sasuke, Uchiha, Itachi, village secrets, or about Hatake, Kei in any verbal, mental, or physical way." There wasn't any enthusiasm in Naruto's voice, but the oath didn't need any.

"Good now we can get to the Hokage training." Kei happily announced as he walked away from the blonde.

"What! What about the village secrets and Sasuke and his brother?" The blonde asked.

"I already told you." Kei responded. "Sasuke and Itachi are Konoha's spies. That's all you need to know."

"But what about today's secret meeting that was cancelled?"

"Oh... you don't need to worry about that. It part of my final mission, nothing too important just some logistical stuff..." Kei eyed the very comfortable looking couch that was in the houses main room.

"You can't just stop there. You have to tell me more. The meeting had to be important since the jounin looked like they would fight you to keep it going, and Sasuke looked scared when he was escorting us here..." Naruto argued.

Kei gave the boy a considering look. "You were able to read Sasuke's blank face?" That was a rare talent.

Naruto smiled sheepishly before puffing his chest up a little in pride. "Well yeah... I was on the same team as the bastard so you get to recognize a few things...like one blank face from another and the many different meanings behind 'Hn'."

"Impressive. But the most important thing right now is your Hokage training. Of course I have never been Hokage before so I can only give you a small sample of what to learn or to expect."

"But-" Naruto started to protest.

"If you really want to be Hokage then you need to understand a few things. You can't be squeamish over things that shinobi need to do to complete the missions." Kei steamrolled the blonde, not giving him a chance to try and focus back on things that Kei didn't want to explain.

"Men dressing as women is one of them. I don't remember how many missions I have done dressed as a girl. It's just part of the package." Kei explained. It wasn't like he had a Hokage Handbook to work from, but he was giving advice off what he expects from a Village Leader and things that Naruto needed to know for life in general.

"I guess that makes sense." Naruto stated slowly as his face scrunched up in thought. Already distracted from the previous conversation.

"Now there's some rules that will help. Nii-san taught them to me, and I think you would benefit from them. First, never be on time." Kei lectured.

"What? That's a stupid rule!" Naruto yelled.

Kei glared at the Genin. "No it's not. As a Hokage your image is everything. Not showing up on time doesn't mean that you have to be late, but you can also be early. Do you really think that Nii-san was late every day? No. He would show up early to the training site and watch you all as you arrived. He observed your interactions with each other, and took note of anything he deemed important.

"Being early in a leader role could show that you are prepared and confident. Also if someone is trying to ambush you then you can get the jump on them by throwing them off, or catching them before they are ready. In turn being late means that they will have waited and doubted their estimations, Make them wait long enough, their attention wanders and you can sneak past them or attack while their guards are down. Arrive late or early, just never on time."

Naruto stared at Kei with a slightly dumbfounded expression. "I didn't think there was more to you guys being late... I just thought you couldn't tell time..." the blonde trailed off with a sheepish look.

"Shinobi rarely do things without reason." It was a simple statement but one that should never be forgotten.

"So... what else?" Naruto looked like he actually wanted to listen to Kei for once. It was a surprising turn of events.

"Second, Doors are evil."

"What?" Naruto laughed. "Doors aren't good or evil."

Kei raised his eyebrow. "If the enemy knows where you will be what is the easiest thing to booby trap? The door. Everyone uses doors, and when rigging a quick trap, the door is the best place to go. Avoiding those means, you have a higher chance or sidestepping a trap or ambush. Entering through windows while the enemy is focused on the door, means you can sneak up on them."

"But what if they are waiting for you at the window?" Naruto asked.

Kei actually smiled at the boy for the question. He was actually listening and thinking the lessons through. "You can see through a window unlike a door. When approaching if you spot shadows, or anything that seems off, you stop and analyze from a distance. Chuunin and lower enemies won't take their shadows into account when waiting for you. There are many tells when looking for a trap."

Naruto nodded along.

"Third is Hatake's do what they want-" Kei stopped quickly and looked at his blonde student. "well maybe you don't need to know that rule..." Kei didn't need Naruto thinking that he could do whatever he wanted before he became Hokage. The ANBU and Jounin had enough trouble from his pranks already.

"The fourth rule is that the worst excuse is always the best excuse." Kei declared.

"No it's not!" Naruto yelled. "The worst excuse just tells everyone that you're lying. What's the point?"

Kei just chuckled. "To test people's reactions. When Nii-san delivered terrible excuse every day, you and Sakura reacted the same way. If one day you didn't then he would know that you were either an imposter or something was wrong. Also in the Hokage position, you could use it to see who will blindly follow you, or those that slowly get so irked that they will organize a coup. Never doubt the effect of a well delivered lame excuse." Kei tried to sound wise and ominous, but he doubted it came across as well as he hoped. Naruto seemed too distracted by absorbing his words to listen to the tone.

"Fifth: Never let others see you eat. It's very simple, if they don't know what you like to eat or when then they can't poison your food. Alternatively if you're given food if you move fast enough and can hide it, then you can test all food for poisons before eating."

"That... that makes a lot of sense." Naruto said.

Kei snorted. "Of course it does, it's a Hatake rule."

Naruto gave him a weird look. "Right... so never be on time, doors are evil, worst excuse and never be seen eating. Anything else?"

Kei held up his hand to show his five fingers. "Six is 'Constantly following someone is the best way to annoy them,'" Kei lowered one finger. "Seven is 'Avoid cats at all possible', Nii-san says they collect the eyes of their victims. That's why when cats attack the eyes are the first place they go. I think they have secret cat conventions and compare eye collections."

"Secret...cat...conv-"

"Shh." Kei shushed the blonde. "Eight is 'Useless items can be fun items', Nine is 'Watch people because you never know when they will do something stupid', and ten is 'Kunoichi area demon class of their own'."

Naruto fisted his hair and groaned. "How are those supposed to help me be Hokage?"

Kei sighed. Why couldn't the boy just try to think about how the last five rules could have practical applications in the real world? "Think about it Naruto. How could they apply in the real world?"

Naruto sighed and took a moment to think. "Well maybe the kunoichi one... I mean Sakura-chan is pretty scary when she's mad, but I don't see how that will help me as the Hokage."

"Kunoichi are deadly and scary beings. Most people underestimate them, and think they are weak. This kind of goes hand in hand with cross-dressing. Women aren't seen as threats which makes the destructive and deadly power they are hiding even more spectacular. A shinobi will taunt or go easy on a kunoichi which makes them easy prey. If you were to have a kunoichi as a secretary like Tsunade-san does, then you will have an assistant that hides such power. An invading nin could dismiss your secretary but really they are your last line of defence before actually fighting and probably the best. Never, ever, underestimate a kunoichi that takes her job seriously." Kei explained.

It was a fact though. Often times Kurenai could terrorize their connected apartments because she wanted something. Kei and Kakashi had learned to escape quickly when Kurenai went into one of her monthly moods.

"Oh... so the others..." Naruto prompted.

"Also have a practical application, but I think you need to figure them out." Kei explained. He had to learn his lessons the hard way so it was only right that Naruto work some of them out on his own. Plus, Kei was tired of talking and wanted to rest a little before he rejoined Makoto, Sai, and Sakura. "Think about them and rest Naruto. We will leave tonight to meet with the others."

Kei calmly walked over to the empty couch and lay down. He closed his eye and took a calming breath. It really had been a terrible day and he didn't think it couldn't get any worse, but at the same time he expected it too.

* * *

**OMAKE**

"Hatake's do what they want, when they want, where they want." Kei announced.

Louis frowned. "Are you sure that's a good idea? What if what you want gets someone into trouble?"

Kei laughed. "Hatake's are too smart for that to happen…"

Louis considered his little friends words before he nodded and stood up from the Hufflepuff table. He was going to do something he wanted to do for awhile, and he wasn't going to let anyone interfere with that. He marched over to the Slytherin table and sat down beside his brother. Without pause, Louis started piling food on his plate and eating.

The Snakes stared at him for a moment before they started protesting and yelling at Adrian for his little brother's actions. They were outraged that a lowly badger would dare trespass.

Not wanting his brother to be the target of any more verbal abuse, Louis very calmly raised a single hand and declared to the entire table. "If you can't properly handle this small insignificant event, then I shudder to think how you will react when Hufflepuff wins the house Cup. I held a higher opinion of this house, but now I think I should re-evaluate my thoughts."

The green and silver table was silenced. They didn't know how to respond to such a blunt and statement. They could argue that Hufflepuff would never win but then it would seem childish, or they could defend their house, but then they might inadvertently say that it was a possibility for Hufflepuff to win. They could also demand Louis leave but since their decorum was already attacked it could only add fuel to the flame. The only option hey say was to stay silent and let the first year enjoy his food, but just this once.

Louis fought the smile that wanted to break out, but he held it in tightly. He finally got to eat with his brother, and he couldn't be happier.

* * *

Battle Results: Iruka- 11, Tie- 2, Molly- 18. Not bad…

I think this was the most thought out answer...thanks Crystal. M Key ^_^;

"If someone glued catnip to Kei while at Hogwarts, several things would happen. First, depending on the amount or potency, Kei would have a mild to moderate allergic reaction from just sneezing all the time to breaking out in hives, even after he removed it from his person. Then he would find the perpetrator(s) and observe their habits for a few weeks, letting them think they weren't caught. Then Kei will enact his revenge by charming itching powder into their clothes that only activates when they are in the Great Hall, and lasts for a long time no matter how often the clothes are washed. This would not be considered too severe a punishment, because all of the cats in the castle have been chasing Kei all over the place, not letting him avoid them, violating Hatake Rule #7. This will allow Kei to instruct Louis in Rule #9: Watch people, you never know when they will do silly things. And Louis will bring his camera."

Most of you said the same, just in less words, but flamnin also brought up a good point "They would never get the catnip on him." Touché …

**Battle Royale!**

Battle 1: Which is better? Occulumency/Legimency vs. Sharigan.

Battle 2: Who is more obsessive? Oliver Wood over Quidditch vs. Naruto over Ramen.


	43. Chapter 43

**Disclaimer**: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

**Warnings**: _Language, OC'ness, Het, Slash, twists and turns, fluff, smut, and abuse to the author, Loss of Kei's cuteness._

**Paranoia Pre-set**

They travelled quickly through the morning and afternoon; Kei was pushing for them to arrive just after nightfall. The route they travelled wasn't traffic heavy, and it meant they could slip through the forest with ease to reach their destination. This suited their needs perfectly.

When the sun went down, Kei cracked a smile at the sight of a small village. They arrived. From there it was only a couple of minutes before the little jounin picked up his partners scent hanging in the air and followed it to a beat down bar. The crowd sitting outside looked like they lacked morals, and hygiene, but neither leaf nin paid them much attention. Instead they snuck around the side of the bar and looked in through a window.

In the middle of the room sat Makoto and Sakura, with the blue jounin hovering quite close to the genin. Around their table were four men, each drinking heavily and talking loudly. Kei scoffed at them. The only reason Makoto would be sitting with them and enduring their presence was if these men were the targets. Kei focused on each one individually to see what he was dealing with.

The first man was on Makoto's open left side, he was the drunkest and was slurring his words as he talked about this one time when he was a boy and his father met a shinobi from Iwa. The other men were jeering and throwing questions at the man to interrupt his story and laughing as the man stumbled over a few answers and mixed up facts and events.

The second man had a sharper eye, he wasn't drinking as much but his cheeks showed a rosy hue that meant he had indulged a little. The third and fourth men were relatively dumb looking, but their body mass told Kei they were the muscles in this quartet. They were the ones that kept throwing out questions to the first man to trip him up.

Confirming that his partner was there, Kei directed Naruto around the back and sat the boy on a crate. "Stay here and watch for any of the four men that we just saw. If they leave, follow them." He instructed. Not caring for a response, Kei ran around the building and slipped inside the door behind another patron. Kei stuck to the shadows, making his way through the bar and towards Makoto. When he was close enough and sniffed the air and tried to find out more about the men. They didn't carry any underscent of a main shinobi village, which was good. They also didn't have a small taste of chakra to their scent which meant they weren't ninja. This was all good news to Kei, since now he could alert his partner to his presence and not worry about being noticed.

Kei moved through the room without being seen, and brushed his partner across the shoulder to tell him he was near. Makoto made no indication that anything happened, and kept on chatting with the second man. Kei fell back into the shadows and watched as under the table, Makoto tapped Sakura's legs. The pinkette who had been silent up until this point promptly blushed and looked down. She leaned over to Makoto and whispered something before adverting her gaze to the table once more. Makoto rose gracefully and held out a hand for Sakura to take. "I'm sorry gentleman but the young lady needs to be excused for a few minutes."

The men nodded and waved away the girl before not taking a break in their story telling. The second man though, Kei observed that his eyes narrowed and followed Makoto's movements carefully. He tracked the duo from the table to the area that held the restrooms. Kei waited for Makoto and Sakura to disappear around the corner, and for the second man to look away before he moved to join them.

"I thought you would be gone a few more days." Makoto said instantly once Kei had joined them.

"Me too, but further complications arose." Kei tried to explain. "Where's Sai?" the pale boy was absent and Kei hoped it wasn't for a bad reason.

"They think he's back at the hotel room preparing everything for the young lady's nightly routine, but he's scouting out their hideout. The four here are the face of the operation but they have about a dozen men working under them. They watch all the roads in and out of the village, and report back once they spot a worthy target. We were under constant surveillance the moment we got here. Only after they determined that Sai and I weren't a threat did I sense one of the guards leaving to inform the boss." Makoto whispered.

"Who's in charge?"

"I don't know, we haven't been allowed to meet him yet. He sent his second in command to greet us and persuade us to let his men protect us from the bandits, but is currently away on business."

Kei nodded, taking in all the information. Kei jerked up straight as the room shifted and a thought came to him. "It's the second man. The second man is the boss and he's watching you to make sure he can get away with killing you." Kei announced quietly.

Makoto frowned. "I'm not sure…"

"No it is him. He's not drinking and he's watching you too closely Makoto. Not Sakura but you. He knows something isn't quite right, we need to act tonight." Kei hurriedly informed his partner.

"Kei… I think it would be better if we scout them a few more days and then Sakura's sister could join us and then we attack, once we have more information and a solid plan." Makoto argued.

Kei shook his head frantically. "No you don't understand Makoto. There's something bad in the air, something sinister. It's been following us since we left Konoha and messing everything up. There were so many problems, so many things that went wrong, it can't be anything else. We need to act tonight. I'll grab Naruto and attack the hideout, and send Sai out to take care of the scouts. Get Sakura out quickly so they don't try to take her hostage and once you're finished here join us to rob the place. We need this done tonight."

"Kei, I-"

Kei held up a hand to stop his partner's protests. "Just trust me Makoto. We finish this tonight and return to Konoha. We need to leave this country it's… it's not right."

Makoto sighed. "Fine, but be safe. If there's more men in the hideout than you can handle keep Sai with you and then go after the scouts." The older jounin warned.

"The boss looks like a tricky man; he may have something hidden to help in a bad situation." Kei told his partner seriously.

Kei stared at his blue haired partner and felt a small bit of tension leave him at the hard set to the older boy's eyes. Makoto was going to be alright. A quick exchange of nods and their conversation was done. Kei left to retrieve Naruto and Makoto was left detailing a plan to Sakura to get the men to leave with them. It wouldn't do to make a big bloody scene in the middle of a bar.

Kei managed to track Sai easily and found the pale boy on a rooftop observing a flower shop. He barely glanced in their direction before he spoke. "The hideout is in the basement, there's a side door that leads down to it, but there's another entrance in the flower shop."

Kei's eyes flickered down where he spot several ink mice running off. "We'll take care of this, you get the scouts."

"10 men. No ninja's." Sai whispered before he disappeared.

The little jounin carefully led Naruto to the shop, keeping his eye, nose, and ears open to anything hostile. When they reached the side door, it was a matter of seconds for him to deal with the simple lock. When the metal lock clicked, the tension that left when with Makoto came back full forth and multiplied. Something was screaming at Kei's senses that he didn't want to go inside, but this was a mission and Kei didn't have any other choice. With a deep breath, he pushed the door open.

Kei walked into the room in and froze. It was filled with men, dark men, men that resembled a nuke nin he killed long ago. A dead nuke nin who cursed his life with that damn black hand jutsu. He could see his face on every single man's body; sneering, glaring, openly laughing at his plight. This is what his senses had been screaming, practically beating him over the head with warnings. Kei couldn't take it. This man needed to learn to stay dead. With a roar of fury and anguish, Kei rushed the man and his clones, pulling out kunai to slit their throats as he ran by. Blood sprayed everywhere but he didn't care. This man's blood had stained him before; a few more wouldn't make a difference.

Kei killed them. Slit throats, stab wounds littering their bodies, and limbs missing, he didn't notice or care. When his kunai became so drenched in blood and slipped from his fingers, he kept fighting, shoving his hands that rippled with electricity into their chests to rip out their hearts, relishing in the feeling of crushing the organ that kept this dad man alive.

Looking around there was only one left. One dead nin left that was cowering in the corner but despite his actions his face never changed. It mocked him with its cruel laughing eyes and sneer that promised pain. He was already in enough pain from this man; he didn't need nor want more. He just wanted the man to stay dead and for him and his death curse to stop haunting him. Kei was getting ready to kill the last doppelganger but he spotted blond out the corner of his eye.

Naruto.

The idiot blonde wanted to be Hokage, and now would be the perfect chance to teach him another lesson. Kei reached down to the nearest body and ripped the shirt off. Body aching with determination, Kei marched over to the last ghost and covered his head. This man already haunted him, Kei didn't want his face to be imbedded into Naruto's mind too. Lifting the man, Kei kicked him in the back, sending him flying across the room to land at Naruto's feet.

"You want to be Hokage? This is what a Hokage does!" Kei screamed. "They kill people for money. They don't care about their names or faces, they just send shinobi out to slaughter them like animals. Have a taste Naruto, kill him!" Kei commanded.

Naruto trembled where he stood, his eyes wide as he stared between Kei and the whimpering man at his feet. "I..I.." he struggled.

"KILL HIM! He's already killed me so what does it matter how quick or painful his death is? Kill him!" Kei screamed, his body shaking with rage.

"I-I can't." Naruto protested.

"You can. The Hokage kills people every day, whether it's an enemy, or their own people. It's better you get used to being a murderer now." Kei hissed. He wanted Naruto to understand, to see the dark side of the position he so desperately craved. "If you don't do it now, I'll make you!"

Kei stalked towards the genin, his hair as just as wild as his one good eye. He needed Naruto to understand! He needed Naruto to learn, but most importantly, he needed someone else to kill this ghost because Kei didn't know if he had it in himself to do it anymore.

Kei retrieved a clean kunai from his hip pouch and shoved it into the blonde's hands. He wrapped his own fist around Naruto's to prevent him from dropping it. With his free hand he grabbed the ghost under his armpit and lifted him up, shoving the dead man to face Naruto.

"Kill him right now." Kei growled. Naruto still hesitated looking scared at the action. The crazed jounin growled again. "His crime is killing me; will you really let an enemy go alive after he condemned a fellow leaf shinobi to death?" Kei asked.

"H-how did h-he kill you?" Naruto asked.

"The how doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that you take revenge and kill him." Kei squeezed Naruto's hand that was wrapped around the kunai and pulled. He pulled the hand forward and then quickly to the side so the blade rooted itself into the ghost's heart. Then he pushed up, guiding Naruto's hand as the kunai tore through skin, muscle, and bone -up the man's chest and through his neck.

After the blood started gushing over their joined hands, Kei dropped everything: Naruto, the ghost, and his anger.

The little Hatake took a step back and surveyed the damage he wrought. Dead bodies littered the floor and slowly their faces started to melt. The hauntingly familiar nuke nin's visage left and people he had never seen before took their place. Kei stumbled and looked down to behind his foot to see a bloody kunai, lying innocently on the floor. He did this. Kei couldn't understand.

He had killed before and even performed some gruesome murders with Makoto, but he had never done anything like this alone. He looked over to the genin that was in his charge and could see the blonde in a state of shock, staring at his blood stained hand in a horrified fascination. He did this.

Kei did this.

Kei couldn't handle it. His head burst into an overwhelming explosion of pain and he blacked out. Kei's mind had shut down on him.

* * *

I couldn't think what would fit after that fight, so I decided to end the chapter here and start working on the next. Nothing seemed right to follow that up in the same chapter. I will also gather poll results next chapter and have a new omake.

Also, I apologize for the shorter than normal length.

I also wrote 'Mikoto' every time for Makoto and after staring at it for 5 minutes wondering why it looked wrong it clicked. I really shouldn't have made a character called Mikado for Applause, cause now I'm mixing up names.


	44. Chapter 44

**Disclaimer**: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

**Warnings**: _Language, OC'ness, Het, Slash, twists and turns, fluff, smut, and abuse to the author, Loss of Kei's cuteness._

_Beta: FEARMEfrancis_

**Death Delivery**

Naruto sat in the kitchen idly playing with a spoon while Iruka flittered around making breakfast. He had returned the night before, quite late, and had gone straight to bed. Iruka had stopped by his room and softly prodded him awake with sweet whispers of food, when morning rolled around mere hours later. Naruto had jumped at the idea of food, although his body demanded more sleep, and scrambled to get ready before his eyes landed on the bloody orange jacket he had tossed the night before. The image of his hand, holding a kunai, plunging into a man would forever haunt him. He could remember the man's face frozen in fear, what he was wearing, but all he mainly saw was Kei's hand directing his into the man's chest and the life slipping from the strangers eyes.

"I-Iruka-nii?" Naruto squeezed out around the lump that formed in his throat.

The chuunin, who had been happily making food, stopped suddenly at the sad desperate tone of his charge. He knew that tone. As an academy instructor he sometimes had students come back and talk to him after their first kill. The ones without a shinobi family would seek him out, and ask in the same tone of voice, a question he knew Naruto was about to ask.

"Have you ever killed anyone before?"

Iruka closed his eyes, his shoulders slumped, and he put the bowl down that was in his hands. He turned slowly and sat down beside Naruto. "Tell me what happened Naruto." He softly commanded as he took one of the blonde's hands into his. He tried to keep his composure calm, and comfort Naruto, knowing how hard it was to accept the first kill.

Iruka had hoped that this day would never come, but he wasn't a fool. He knew it would happen, because Naruto was a shinobi. He was a crazy, energetic, screwball of a shinobi who wanted to be Hokage and had never taken a life, but now that last shred of innocence was gone, and Iruka mourned its loss.

"I don't know. I was on a mission with Kei-sensei-"

"Hatake?" Iruka interrupted.

Naruto frowned but nodded "Yeah! Sakura-chan begged the Old Lady for a big mission so she sent Sakura-chan and me off with Kei and Makoto-sensei. Sai was there too but Kei was charged with teaching me about being Hokage. He gave me some really good things to think about that I would have never thought of before." Naruto happily rambled, momentarily forgetting his melancholy.

Iruka sighed. "Naruto back to the story. You and Kei-sensei were doing what before you killed?"

Naruto's mood dropped as he struggled to get back on the right story track. "Well we were supposed to stop this gang or something, but when we went into their hideout, Kei-sensei freaked out and started killing everyone. I've never seen him like that before. His hair was all crazy and his one eye was bulging out and it was scary. So Kei-sensei was killing everyone and I could only watch but there was one guy left and Kei-sensei grabbed my hand and told me to kill him, because Hokage's kill people every day and I needed to be used to it. I didn't want to do it, but Kei-sensei grabbed my hand and stabbed the man and he died. I watched as the blood and life drained out of him."

Iruka was fuming. It was one thing for a shinobi to make their first kill on their own, when they realized it was a life or death situation. But to force a genin to kill, to hold his hand and make him kill a man in cold blood was wrong. Iruka didn't care if Kei was a prodigy and loved by many. The little brat had gone too far.

"I will have his forehead protector for this! To think he thought it was appropriate to force you to kill a man like that. I am going to march down there and yell at him and his brother too. Those Hatake's get away with too much, but it's going to stop now!" Iruka yelled. Not only was Kakashi and Kei going to hear from him, but so was the Hokage.

Iruka stood ready to storm the village for his prey but Naruto grabbed his arm and stopped him. "Iruka-nii please." He begged. "I'm not mad. I'm actually sort of grateful towards Kei-sensei." Naruto said.

Iruka sank back down and stared at his charge. "But why?" Why Naruto wasn't mad or upset about what the little Hatake brat made him do, because damnit he should be!

"Because Kei-sensei told me a truth I needed to hear. The Hokage sends shinobi out every day to kill or be killed. If I am ever going to be Hokage … I need to be able to accept that I am the cause of death… for many men and woman." Naruto explained. It was hard to put his thoughts into words but he had been thinking about it most of the travel home and this is where it led him.

"I always thought that being a shinobi meant cool missions and getting the girl. I never thought about death and killing. I knew it happened but…I guess… I never thought much on it until Kei-sensei pointed it out. The only thing he didn't teach me was how to accept this guilt inside." Naruto stared at his savior, his older brother that had taken him away from his crappy apartment and fed him, loved him, and guided him. "Iruka-nii…" Naruto felt the water gathering in his eyes, and finally after days of holding it in, Naruto finally cried for his first kill.

Iruka's anger vanished as he wrapped his arms around the blonde. "Oh Naruto… my precious Naruto… It's going to be okay. I promise." Iruka whispered into the genin's ear. "I'll help you get through this, I promise."

They sat together for a few minutes, Naruto crying out his guilt and sadness, and Iruka holding the little boy he had wished would never grow up. When Naruto was calmer, Iruka pulled away slightly and stared into the blonde's red wet puffy eyes and sighed.

"What you need to do is forget. Forget their face, name, age, and everything and anything you knew about them. Erase anything that makes them more real in your mind, so that one day all you will remember is a mission, and a number. It's gets easier with time, and most shinobi never forget their first kill, but you need to forget their face at least. Faceless corpses are guilt-free corpses." Iruka explained.

"My first kill was a woman. She and her husband were fighting in the middle of a restaurant and it was preventing me and my team from completing our mission. I went to calm her down, and politely ask her to take the argument elsewhere but she turned on me. She started yelling at me and when I asked her to please step outside she attacked. She managed to grab a kunai from my pouch and aimed for my heart. I panicked and drew a kunai to protect myself, but at the last minute she tripped and fell on it, killing herself instantly." Iruka told his charge. "I was devastated but luckily my Instructor stepped in and smoothed everything out. I couldn't be charged since the woman attacked me first and I was only a genin, but I was devastated afterword My instructor took me aside that night and told me the same advice I gave you. 'Forget her face, and anything about her. Faceless corpses are guiltless corpses.' He told me."

Naruto sniffled and buried his face into Iruka's chest. "Does it still hurt to think about?" He mumbled into the chuunin's chest.

Iruka chuckled a little at the sight. Here he had been thinking that Naruto lost all his childish innocence, but it seemed some still remained. "A little. It used to be a great spike of pain, but now it's only a dull throb. I don't remember her face, what her hair colour was, what colour her eyes were… I don't even remember the town we were in. I just know that she pulled a kunai and attacked me first."

"Thanks Iruka-nii." Naruto said as he pulled away. The blonde sniffled again and wiped his eyes. "I have to meet Kakashi-sensei soon. I'll try to forget."

Iruka nodded but he wasn't really looking at the boy, he was getting lost in the past as faceless corpses rushed passed, and he didn't remember a single one. Just numbers.

o.O.o

Naruto left soon enough and arrived at the bridge to see Kakashi already waiting for him. "Kakashi-sensei! You're not late!" Naruto yelled in surprise.

Kakashi eye smiled at the blonde, before it dropped and he was serious. "I wanted to make sure you were okay after your first kill." He explained.

Naruto tried to smile and wave the concern away. "I'm fine. Iruka-nii talked to me about it, about how I should forget their face and stuff."

"Forget?" Kakashi sounded surprised. "I didn't take Iruka as a forgetter."

Naruto frowned. "What do you mean? Isn't that how shinobi get past the… guilt?"

Kakashi laughed darkly and shook his head. "Some maybe, but all shinobi have different ways of healing. There is no one right way." Kakashi lectured.

Naruto stepped closer to the jounin as he spoke. "How do you cope?" Naruto was honestly curious. If Iruka was a forgetter like Kakashi-sensei said, then what was Kakashi?

"I honour them. I'll tell you the same thing I told Kei when he first killed a man. The first few times you kill are the hardest, but then you remember that you are doing what is best for your life and what is best for the village. The enemy attacked you first, and you defended yourself. Every time a shinobi accepts a mission, they must prepare themselves to die or to kill. It's not that it gets easier, it's just that you get used to the blood. When I kill I remind myself that I do this so I can make it safer for Kei. So there is one less bad guy out there to hurt him. Afterwards I find a way to honour the life I took. You should always honour the person in some way. Whether it is just remembering their name, or giving them a goodbye." Kakashi explained, but he was looking off as if remembering the original incident and half living there and half in the present.

"Iruka-nii said to forget, that faceless corpses were guilt-less corpse." Naruto argued.

Kakashi shook his head to bring himself back to the present. "There is no right or wrong way to get through this. Just the way you think suits you best, but personally… when I die, I hope that the person who killed me would remember my name or honour me." Kakashi walked forward until he was in front of Naruto and pat the genin on the head. "That's all I wanted to talk to you about, so I will leave you here. You'll get through this and forge your own path Naruto, just believe in yourself." The jounin left after that.

As the swirling leaves of Kakashi's departure finally fell, Naruto was left with his mind full of swimming thoughts. Iruka said to forget, but Kakashi-sensei said to remember. It was confusing and he wasn't sure which he wanted to follow. But then a thought popped into his head. If he were killed, what would he want the attacker to do? Would he rather have the other shinobi forget his face to live free of guilt, able to continue on serving his village, or would he want them to remember and honour him?

Naruto sat down beside the bridge to think deeply on the matter. What would he want them to do?

o.O.o

He was slow to wake. Kei had woken up like this before after a practically brutal mission or two, but those times he always woke with the images of the battle flashing through is mind. This time he didn't. It was like his mind was blank and he had no clue how he ended up in this situation. Kei tried to walk himself through it slowly, but even the details leading up to the mission were blank. Everything seemed to be submerged in water in his mind and nothing was coming out clear.

A sound, it was faint and scrambled, but Kei heard it. With some effort he opened his eye and turned his head towards the sound, but his sight was too blurry to recognize anything. A dark blue and black blob approached him and as it got closer he could smell the faint scent of someone familiar. "Makoto…" Kei whispered. His voice was hoarse, and he had to struggle to get the name out, but he felt immense relief to know that he wasn't alone.

"Kei." The older boy said softly as he come up to the side of the bed.

"What happened?" Kei asked.

"I don't Kei, I don't know." Makoto's shape started clearing up, and Kei could start seeing details. Makoto was dressed in his ANBU uniform, his mask hanging off his hip, and sad expression on his face. "I don't think we have many missions left together." The bluenette choked on his words.

"Why…?" Kei felt himself starting to panic. "Makoto, we're supposed to be partners forever."

Makoto choked again and wrapped his arms around Kei tightly. "I know, but … Kei… you're not going to last much longer." His grip tightened as he delivered the news he thought he never would. "The Hokage is giving you two options. Stay in Konoha, retire, and she'll heal you as much as she can to give you more time, before you can pass peacefully. Or… we leave the village. We go back to Hogwarts finish the ward-stone, and only return to plant it, and then go me the Akatsuki."

"L-leave? Or retire… I can't Makoto." Kei couldn't understand what his partner was telling him. "I can't die yet. I'm supposed to have another year and a half." He argued. It wasn't true. Rikoto had told him how much time was left, and he had planned according to that.

Makoto gave a small hysterical laugh. "Nothing really goes according to plan does it?" He asked.

"But what happened to cause this?" Kei asked in a small voice.

"Your brain finally caught up to your body." Tsunade spoke up from the doorway.

Kei pierced the woman with a glare. He couldn't remember details but he knew he was mad at this woman for some reason.

Tsunade scoffed at his glare. "Yes yes, I'm mean, evil, out to get you, or whatever is going through your mind. Well shut it brat, it's not like that." The Hokage snapped.

Kei narrowed his eye, and refused to act any friendlier. "What do you mean my brain caught up to my body?"

The Hokage sighed as she walked further into the room and closed the door. With that act, Kei finally realized where he was. He was in an ANBU recovery room that was only used when ANBU were injured while training, or in such a way to give away their identity.

"Makoto get off the brat so I can talk to him properly." Tsunade commanded. Makoto pulled away with great reluctance but kept a hand on Kei's arm, not leaving him completely. "For years only your body was affected by your illness, but as your seizures grew in frequency the effects started a wear and tear on your brain as well. Have you ever studied the human brain?" Tsunade asked.

Kei shook his head no. He never had a reason to.

"Simply put there's certain areas that when stimulated can affect your emotions and memory. I purposely messed with the schedules on your last mission to test your reactions. What I heard from Shikaku and Naruto when I questioned him seemed to confirm some fears I had. When you arrived back I gave your brain a scan and noticed that those areas that affect your memory had been shocked.

"I think that when you enter a situation of increased stress, your body starts to send electrical shocks to your brain. It's using your natural affinity for lightening against you and increasing your fear, paranoia, and aversive cues. Naruto mentioned that you had become twitchy and that when you tied him up and held his hand that your hands were sweaty. These are side effects of the shocks that are hitting these spots in your brain. I couldn't be sure until you got back, but I suspected that this would happen soon. On my last scan I saw some signs but nothing that would be worrying. This mission I used to test you and now that my theory is proving correct, I have given you this choice. Retire or leave."

"I…I…" Kei didn't know what to do. He was trying to understand what the Hokage told him, but he wasn't sure he could. The only thing he understood for sure was that his brain was now as sick as his body. He really didn't have a lot of time left.

"If you stay you can spend your last days with Kakashi. You would still have months to say good bye, you could pass peacefully, without any pain, and know that you spent your last moments with your loved ones. If you leave, you will go back to your magical school and stay there until your suicide. Your body will still be in pain, but in the less stress environment of Hogwarts your body won't fight you as much. It would be impossible for you to stay on as a shinobi. The next mission could mean the complete electrocution of your brain." The Hokage explained. Her face was blank, but that really didn't keep the sadness and pity out of her voice.

"If I go, I'll be a missing-nin." Kei laughed, some of Makoto's earlier hysteria transferring to him. "It's becoming a common pattern. Everyone is becoming a missing-nin. Why can't we just die with everyone knowing that we served Konoha safely until the end?" Kei screamed at the end. The entire situation was hitting him hard as new struggles were thrown at him.

"I wouldn't label you as a nuke-nin. We can stage it so that you were on a mission when you were attacked. The building you were in will be blown up, your bodies won't be found, but I will spread the word that all the collection offices are under close watch for your bodies, and that all spies are keeping their ears close to the ground for a whisper of your presence. You will be MIA, but never a traitor. When easter break comes during your schooling, you can send one of your twin dogs back with blood and an obscure note. It will prove you're still alive, and hopefully keep your brother's spirits up until your death. Then I will tell him everything. I will tell him how you died protecting Konoha until the end."

Tsunade couldn't meet Kei's eyes. She had sat for hours in her office thinking over every possibility, and this is all she could offer. She didn't want to lose one of her best either, but sometimes sacrifices had to be made, and today it was Kei. The little Hatake had two paths in front of him and in her heart she knew which he would take, and that made her feel worse. She wished she could save him, she wished that he could continue being a regular shinobi, and she wished, so deeply, that she wouldn't have to break up a family today.

"Makoto?" Kei turned towards his partner, searching his face for something unknown.

"I'm with you, no matter what you choose." Makoto whispered.

"I want to be selfish." Kei announced. "I want to stay and cuddle Nii-san, and play with Kiba. I want to talk with Itachi again, and I want to hug Sasuke. I don't want to die without saying goodbye to them, or Kotetsu-nii, Izumo-nii, Kurenai, Asuma, Anko, and Gai-sensei. I want to die knowing that I told them that I appreciated everything they have ever done for me, everything they have ever given me. Can I do that?" Kei asked.

"You can." Tsunade answered. "But you won't."

Kei's head dropped. "No I won't. I'm a shinobi and I can't just retire or quit. I'll fight for this village until the day I die."

"You could leave them letters. I'm sure the Hokage would be willing to deliver them after your death." Makoto suggested.

The canine pair looked towards the Hokage, wondering if the woman would agree. Tsunade didn't speak, she didn't know if she could in that moment. She merely nodded her head, silently promising that she would do anything in her power to help pass along their last words to their loved ones.

"Then I guess we should get started on those letters." Kei laughed lightly, trying to break the mood, but choked at the end, unable to stop the overwhelming depression that captured him.

"Sai will be here soon. He will go with you and be the one to report back that you have gone missing. He will also be the liaison between Konoha and the Uchiha spies." Tsunade explained to them. Both boys nodded, not really listening as they tried to formulate their last letters. "I'm so sorry about this boys." She whispered before leaving.

Kei sighed. "I thought I would be taller when we finally prepared for our last mission together." Kei admitted.

Makoto laughed. "I had hoped we would both have grey hair."

"Can you get Nii-san's book for me?" Kei asked.

"Sure." Makoto stood and went over to the pile of Kei's possessions. He carefully removed a small orange book, and brought it over to Kei.

Kei cracked the book open and flipped through the pages until he found a blank one. A part of his mind was informing him that this would be the last time he got to write to his brother. Kei took a pen from Makoto's out stretched hand and started writing.

_Nii-san,_

_I won't be able to write you again after today, so I think it's time I told you the truth of what is going on. When you read this, everything will be okay. I will make sure of it. The truth is… I've been sick… and for a long time. Remember when I was six and I came home after my first kill? He left more than just a few scars behind…_

o.O.o

A week. A week had passed since Tsunade had talked to Kei and Makoto and now Sai stood in front her. She had sent the boys to the Land of Stone to stage the attack. The Land of Stone had no major ties to any of the five great shinobi countries, and had become a bit of a gathering place for missing-nin that wanted a vacation. It was also between Iwa and Sound country so when word got around that two well-known Konoha-nin were captured there, eyes would be looking at both villages. Not that Tsunade minded considering she didn't have any fond feelings for either country.

"Report."

"Everything went off without a hitch. They escaped to the outer lands before the building collapsed with Zabuza and his apprentice. I planted many clues to make it look like a planned attack from the enemy and even gave myself some injuries so that I appear to have barely made it out." Sai said in a monotone voice.

Tsunade nodded, before standing up. "Write a formal report, just like we discussed. I need to inform two families that their loved ones are missing." She felt her age as she walked out of her office with a grim face. First she would visit the civilian family; Makoto's family was bound to be easier to tell than Kakashi.

_**Elsewhere…**_

Makoto carried Kei as he walked up the steps to the Wood Manor. Oliver Wood had offered Kei a place to stay, and Makoto was taking advantage of that. His little partner was still weak, but he hoped that Kei would be back on his feet by the time they had to return to Hogwarts. It was only a few days away, but he had hope, and frankly that's all he could rely on.

Hope that Kei will make it through.

* * *

I tried to make this chapter more optimistic than the last, but I'm not sure I succeeded. It kinda got away from me once I found inspiration to write.

I want to send a big thank you to **Mrs Kitsune. **I was having trouble writing after being ridiculously sick, and the death of a family member, but she messaged me one night, pretended to be a shrink, and got me writing. So THANK YOU!

Results!

Occ/Leg: 7, Tie: 3, Special Uchiha Eyes: 26 … Wood and Balls: 20, Tie:8, Naruto:18

**Battle Royale**

Who is more obsessed with food? Naruto vs. Ron

Who is the cooler Canine? Pakkun vs. Padfoot


	45. Chapter 45

**Disclaimer**: _I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way._

**Warnings**: _Language, OC'ness, Het, __**Slash**__, twists and turns, fluff, smut, and abuse to the author, character death, violence._

_**A/N:**__ As a reward for putting up with the sadness the last few chapters I am going to finally reveal Kei's pairing. I figured I would also release it early instead of waiting until the end, so that anyone that has a problem with it can stop reading now and not waste any more time. I recently got a review from a reader who read til chapter 23 and was upset when he found out the story would have __**slash**__ and accused me of wasting his time. I don't know how they missed the 23 warnings with __**slash**__ at the start, or the __**slash**__ Kiss between Kei and Sasuke in chapter 19, but… once more, if you have not caught on… there will be __**slash**__. Here is Kei's pairing, and I won't begrudge anyone who stops reading because they don't like it. I have thought about this for a long time and I hadn't settled on it until chapter 35ish… so no matter how many complaints are thrown at me, I will not change it. I think it fits, and has been hinted at, plus I can't see my Kei with anyone else. Oh, I'm also a jerk so you're going to have to wait til the end of chapter. _

**Novel Nuances**

Numb. That's how Kakashi felt. Completely numb. The chances of a shinobi being captured or killed on a mission were high. He had come to accept that one day he would leave and never return, and he had even resigned himself to accepting that such a fate could befall Kei. He just hadn't wanted to believe it would happen. But, Tsunade the Lady Hokage herself came to him and explained that while on a mission, Kei had been taken. He barely registered the details, only picking out the important bits. Kei was captured. They didn't know who did it. Makoto was with him.

The last piece of information gave him some comfort. Kei was always best when he was with Makoto, those two building an incredible foundation of teamwork. If they were together and alive, they would make it through. It was just a waiting game from this moment on - waiting for information on them, waiting for the culprits to slip up, and waiting for the perfect chance to escape. He could wait.

Shortly after the Hokage had left his apartment, Kakashi had left himself. He needed a walk to help clear his head as he tried to decide the best way to approach the others. He asked the Hokage to hold off one day so that he could inform Kei's friends and loved ones himself. It was better they hear from him that Kei was missing, and not through the rumor mill.

Kakashi turned a corner near the civilian section of Konoha, and sighed at what he saw. Makoto's mother, Natsumi, was walking down the street, her eyes red and puffy. She seemed to be in a daze, and Kakashi could understand why. It was one thing being a shinobi and losing a sibling, but to be a civilian mother and lose your youngest child... it must be hard on the woman.

"Natsumi-san." Kakashi whispered, catching the woman's attention.

Shindo, Natsumi, looked up. She had long dark blue hair like her son's, and she tied it into a bun. Her blue eyes were still wet, and her face looked lost "Ah, Kakashi-san."

"It must be hard for you." Kakashi stated, unsure what to say to the woman.

Natsumi blinked, probably not registering his words.

"Um… should I escort you home?" Kakashi asked.

Natsumi blinked again and then sighed. "Kakashi-san… do you ever regret letting Kei join the shinobi life?"

Kakashi frowned. He should have expected this question. "No." He answered simply and honestly.

"I do." She responded. "Every single day I regret it. I wonder if he's hurt, if he's eating right. I worried endlessly every day, waiting for a day like today when I would get a message that my baby boy is never coming home again. Now that I have… I wish I could go back in time and say 'no' when Makoto asked me to join the god-awful academy. That I had not listened to his father when he assured me it would be okay. I wish I could go back and help him pick a happier and safer path."

Kakashi watched the woman, he wasn't moved by her words, but in fact he was upset by them. "Makoto was happy. You may not understand the life of a shinobi, but I do. Nothing makes a shinobi happier then coming home with his teammates at the end of a mission, and knowing that they have done something protect this village they call home." Kakashi explained.

Natsumi choked. "You can say that, but I will never have any physical evidence that my son was happy." She retorted, anger entering her voice.

Kakashi reached into his hip pouch and took out a small orange book. "You may not have any evidence but I do. I have several of these books, all full of Kei's words. He tells me everything from his missions, the things he's seen and experienced. But the one thing that I know, that these books have told me time and time again, is that Kei only became truly happy as a shinobi when he was partnered with Makoto. And every time they came home together, happy from another completed mission, I could see the same happiness shining in your son's eyes."

Kakashi opened the book and flipped through a few pages before presenting the book to the crying woman. Natsumi seemed hesitant, but she shakily took the book and read the entry.

_**Nii-san! **_

_**Today Makoto and I are in the Land of Tea. We come here quite often and every time we are amazed at the beautiful festivals they hold. This time Makoto has made me dress up. I have to walk the whole festival in a pig mask. When I first put it on Makoto couldn't stop laughing and told me it was the first time he had ever seen an 'Old Man Hog', and such a short one it was. Don't worry Nii-san, I chased him down and tickled him until he had tears. Then we went to the festival and had a great time.**_

_**Do you know despite being a shinobi, Makoto is terrible at catching the gold fish? I caught five of them, and Makoto hasn't caught a single one. He tried redeeming himself at the rock rolling game. He was pretty good. **_

_**Even though we are supposed to be here on an info gathering mission, Makoto and I are going to take a day or two off and play at one of the beaches. They have very pretty beaches here too. But this time, Makoto and I aren't going to get sunburned. I may wear my pig mask there too, since last time we went we had so many girls chasing us. I should buy Makoto his own mask, he gets more admirers than I do.**_

_**Sorry Nii-san, but I must go. I will write again tomorrow and tell you all about the beach adventure.**_

_**Love you,**_

_**Kei**_

Natsumi looked up, her eyes swimming with new tears. Kakashi calmly reached forward and turned a few more pages. "Keep reading."

_**You will never believe what happened. We were traveling through Grass Country today, and there was a restaurant holding a pudding eating contest. Makoto entered and Sai and I cheered him on. Makoto was in complete bliss as he ate so much pudding, the poor manager couldn't keep up with him. He won and got a voucher for a year supply of pudding. We cashed it in right away, but now we need to spend a few more days here so the restaurant can fill the order. Sai doesn't mind because the landscape is beautiful to paint.**_

Natsumi turned the page herself this time.

_**Nii-san, you gave Makoto a compliment today and he hasn't stopped smiling. You should praise him more often if he will always be this happy. I always want Makoto to smile, even if we're not together. **_

Another page turned.

_**Makoto fell asleep in a flower field today. I drew a picture of him. It's not very good, but I want to always keep this memory. It's been a tough mission, and he deserves some peace. Tea always seems peaceful despite that danger that lurks here. We will be home soon, and we can go get dinner while Makoto visits his family. He's been missing them, but he says it's okay as long as he makes them proud.**_

Natsumi smiled as she stared at the drawing. It was far from being a masterpiece, but it expressed all the emotions the artist was feeling. Makoto was sleeping, surrounded by flowers, and he had a soft smile on his face.

"He was happy. He was happy and so was Kei, because they were together." Kakashi sympathetically told the distraught mother. "They are declared missing, but they are together and if there is one thing I know is that those two are strongest when together. They will find a way home."

Natsumi looked up, clutching the book to her chest. "You really think so?" Her voice wobbled.

"They will come home. It might be a long wait, but they will get here." Kakashi gently pried his book from her fingers, and removed the drawing. He didn't want to part with the work, since Kei drew it, but he knew that if anyone deserved to see and own this picture, it would be Makoto's mother. "Take this, and remember that he was - is – happy being a shinobi."

Shaking hands took the picture, slowly – reverently – bring in it close to Natsumi's heart. "I…I want to believe you. I will believe you." Natsumi vowed.

"Good. Now go home, because I'm sure that your family would like to see that you're fine." Kakashi suggested.

Natsumi nodded, and turned away. She hesitated and slowly turned back, lifting the picture away from her chest slightly. "Thank you for this. I'll tell my family that he was happy, I think it will comfort them, just like it has me."

Kakashi didn't speak. He nodded his head, and watched as the woman made her way home, switching between wiping her eyes and staring at the drawing. Running a hand through his hair, Kakashi turned to go his own way home. He put off the news long enough.

o.O.o

Pakkun had been sent out to gather all those close to Kei in one place, Kotetsu and Izumo's apartment. The two chuunin were already home, and upon seeing Kakashi's expression had cleaned the place to receive guests. Asuma arrived, dragging his team with him, Kurenai was next with her team. Guy showed up, without his team, and even Naruto wandered in. Anko and Ibiki had arrived early and hid in the shadows, watching but not making their presence known. He wished they would though, so for just a moment all the searching and questioning eyes would leave him.

"Kakashi-sensei… what's going on?" Naruto asked breaking that wall of silence he had built.

Kakashi coughed to get his throat working. "This might not effect some of you…" he started "But…" It was hard to get the words out. It wasn't like telling the group that he was going to treat them to a meal, or something easy like that. This had to do with his little brother, and the possibility of him never returning. "Kei and Makoto…"

Kakashi paused. He was stronger than this. Effortlessly, he slipped into his ANBU mask, the serious and detached face he always wore when reporting to the Hokage was familiar and simple to resort to. "Kei and Makoto have been ruled missing in action. While on a mission the building they were in collapsed while under attack, their bodies have not been found, but it is the belief of the Hokage that they are still alive, but being held hostage."

The air was thick and heavy as his words settled. The Jounin in the room had blank expressions, processing the information, It wasn't new that a comrade, a friend, or family member was taken. They had more experience dealing with such issues. The younger generation showed their emotions. They were shocked, stunned disbelief, and slightly lost looking.

"But…how? I was just on a mission with Kei-sensei and Makoto-sensei. They should have been here in the village not wherever they were." Naruto argued.

"I can answer that." Sai spoke up as he entered the room. "Makoto and Kei have been working on an S-rank mission for a little over eight months. With Kei's age and skillset he was perfect for the mission and had gladly accepted. With help from an outside source we were able to work Makoto into the group and infiltrated the organization. When our mission in Tea ended, Makoto brought Kei straight back to their main mission. If they are gone too long, then suspicions rise and we can't have that. During an information exchange we were attacked and they were taken."

Naruto growled as he roughly scratched his head in frustration. "But that doesn't make sense. Kei-sensei told me-"Naruto squeaked as if something was strangling him.

"Naruto?" Kakashi asked cautiously.

"Baka-sensei and his stupid oath." The blonde muttered as he rubbed his throat. "Kei-sensei and Makoto-sensei are as strong as Kakashi-sensei, how can they just be taken?"

Kakashi's eye narrowed. That hadn't been what Naruto was going to say before. "Ma, ma… Naruto… give me a little more credit. I would like to think I can still beat those two in a fight." He said with an eye smile to cover up his suspicions.

"Hahaha!" Guy laughed. "The flames of youth burn brightly in Kei and Makoto, they will be back soon. From here we can only follow procedure and wait. If the Hokage gets word, we wait for her to ask us for help. Until then, carry on as usual."

A small 'tsk' was heard from the back right before the T&I operatives left. Kakashi turned his attention to Asuma and his students. Something was going, and he wanted to know what. Shikamaru had a look on his face as if he was considering something, and Ino was shooting Naruto glances, like she was trying to figure something out about the blonde. It was starting to smell like a cover up to him.

o.O.o

"I want to take over the mission he- Kei and Makoto - were on when they went missing." Kakashi said as soon as he entered the Hokage's office.

"No." Tsunade answered promptly, not even looking up from her paperwork.

"Why." Kakashi demanded.

Tsunade sighed. "Kei was the perfect age and had the skill set for the mission-"

"Then I will take Makoto's place." Kakashi interrupted.

"Makoto's alias depended entirely on Kei. Without Kei there is no place for Makoto. The mission is dead." Tsunade explained.

"Then I will find another way in. I want to complete the mission that Kei spent eight months on." Kakashi pushed. He wasn't going to back down.

"That's not possible. Like I said, Kei was the only one that could do it." Tsunade argued hotly.

"Are you sure? Or maybe you won't let me do this, because it would ruin the cover up you have going on with my little brother. Where is he? He's not a hostage somewhere is he? What is he doing that he can't return home for?" Kakashi demanded stalking towards Tsunade's desk, his KI leaking.

In the blink of an eye two ANBU were beside him, kunai out and held against his throat.

"Stand down." Tsunade called. "Leave us, but stay nearby. There are two old goats that will arrive soon, and I want to have witnesses that they deserved their fate if things get out of hand." The ANBU left without a word.

Tsunade stared Kakashi straight in the eye, her face cold. "There are things you don't need to get mixed up in. It's best if you stopped asking questions and just accept your brother's disappearance."

Kakashi growled and slammed a fist down on her desk. "I will not. I will not sit idly by if something is happening to my brother and I can help. Where is he? Is he in Tea? Because he has a suspicious amount of missions there for it to be coincidence."

"He's gone." Tsunade stated seriously. "To keep him alive, I forced him out of the village and sent Makoto with him."

Kakashi faltered. "Why…"

"He was sick. Has been for years and his body was turning against him. He begged me not to tell you, wanting to die like a shinobi to make you proud. He is gone, but not dead. Not yet." Tsunade sighed and removed an orange book from her bosom. "This is his last journal to you. Don't share it with anyone."

Kakashi roughly grabbed the book from her hands, flipping to the last page to see if Kei left him a clue, anything to help.

_Nii-san,_

_I won't be able to write you again after today, so I think it's time I told you the truth of what is going on. When you read this, everything will be okay. I will make sure of it. The truth is… I've been sick… and for a long time. Remember when I was six and I came home after my first kill? He left more than just a few scars behind. He hit me with an instant death justu from Mist, but it wasn't a complete one. It had slowed down my body, it's why I haven't been growing. _

_Rikoto has been looking after me, and helping where he can. I've been having seizures and a few have been bad and scared Makoto. According to the Hokage my mind has finally caught up to my body and is fighting me. I don't know how long I can keep fighting myself, struggling to hold onto reality. I begged the Hokage for one last mission. _

Kakashi looked up, his hands gripping the book. "Where is the rest of the entry?" He demanded, furious that part of his brothers last words were cut off.

"With Makoto. He wanted to bring them to you personally when everything is finished. Can you wait? Can you let your brother fulfill his last mission by himself?"

Kakashi looked at the journal entry, his mind in turmoil. "How bad is he?" He asked quietly.

"If he wasn't a Hatake I don't think he would have been able to withstand the pain."

"I'll wait." Kakashi vowed. Because that is what Kei wanted.

Tsunade wasn't able to say more as her office door banged open and emitted two unwelcome guests.

"Koharu, Homura… how unexpected of you." Tsunade drawled, her voice dripping in annoyance.

"Lady Hokage, we just received news that two of your Jounin have gone missing. We were wondering why it's an open case. Usually under such mysterious a circumstance a search party is sent out before they are ruled either dead, as a traitor." Koharu spoke up.

"According to our information the two in question have been absent from the village for a long time. That is worrying." Homura tacked on.

Tsunade scoffed at them. "Your information… you just stalk out the records office, waiting for anything new to come in for your greedy eyes to read. Don't try to act all high and mighty you old bags. I am prepping for a search team now, and trust me when I say that those two would never betray this village. Your old delusions are unwanted here."

Koharu puffed up in agitation. "See here, we have reason to be concerned when two ANBU go missing. They hold precious village secrets and we need to exterminate them quickly."

"Oh? I have them down as Jounin, nothing about ANBU in their record. Where did you get that piece of information? And what village secrets do they hold? According to their files they haven't handled any delicate missions, nothing that would tell confidential information. These two _jounin_ are loyal to Konoha and I will stand by that until I have significant evidence on my desk saying otherwise."

Tsunade raised a questioning eyebrow at the two elders, challenging them. "Oh, and I believe you know Hatake, Kakashi, the older brother to one of the missing jounin." Tsunade smirked sadistically as she pointed out Kakashi's presence to the two.

To their credit, the elders held their composure as they regarded Kakashi. He gave them a simple wave in hello, but his eye was slit in anger.

"Maybe Kakashi-san should leave so we can continue this conversation." Homura suggested.

"Oh no, I think we can postpone this conversation until I have more information." Tsunade countered. Stiffly the two elders left without another word. Both too proud to fight over time. "If you want to help your brother then find out who leaked that information to them. I will not have a mole in my ANBU forces." Tsunade ordered.

"Yes Hokage-sama." Kakashi answered, glad to have a mission.

o.O.o

Makoto was glad that Oliver Wood was as friendly and caring as he appeared at school. The teenager had answered the door with a welcoming smile, but it slipped from his face as soon as he saw Kei hanging limply in his arms. Wood had ushered Makoto inside, barely sparring him a glance as he directed them towards the sitting room. Once Kei was settled on a couch, Wood ran out of the room, calling for his mother.

Elizabeth Wood was a fierce woman. Once she heard that there was an injured party in her sitting room, she came barreling into the room, pushing her son and Makoto out of the way as she made her way over to Kei. She dropped her potions bag on a nearby chair and whipped out her wand, waving it in every direction as she cast diagnostic spell after diagnostic spell.

"Robert!" Elizabeth yelled.

Robert Wood was a kind looking man. He had the same big and burly stature of his son, but a softer face. "Yes dear?" he asked stepping into the room.

"My first aid bag isn't enough. Get me the other one." Elizabeth ordered.

"Of course dear." Robert replied. The man stepped out of the room, and barely a second later returned with another black potions bag, but it was bigger than the first.

"I don't know what this boy has been doing but he's a mess. I will help with what I can here, but he is going to have to go to St. Mungo's." Elizabeth announced as she started shoving potions down Kei's throat.

Makoto stepped forward, unable to keep quiet. "I'm sorry but that's not possible. Kei cannot go to a hospital."

Oliver gaped at him. "You can speak English?" he asked.

"Yes." Makoto answered simply. "Kei cannot go to the hospital. Please do what you can here and we will compensate you later."

"What nonsense are you speaking boy? This child needs more help than I can give, or else his body will shut down. His nerves are fried, his brain has taken a beating and he will need a professional mind healer to sort that out, and we can probably try to do something about his eye and all those scars." Elizabeth argued.

"He cannot go. Kei is aware of what is wrong with his body, but has chosen to forgo any permanent treatment. Please respect his wishes in this manner." Makoto responded.

Elizabeth eyed him before turning away. "And who are you to dictate such things. This boy is too young to make such decisions on his own. We will be taking him to the hospital."

"I am his guardian and since I stated clearly that I will not allow you to take him to the hospital, you are prohibited from giving him further treatment." Makoto argued.

Elizabeth's hands stilled. "Do you know what you are saying? This boy is in bad shape, without proper treatment-"

"He will die, yes. He knows and I know. He has decided that he is fine with that. I appreciate any immediate treatment you can gave him now, but beyond that I must decline." Makoto finished.

"It's against my better judgment as a healer, but I must comply. I will ask the child himself what he wants when he wakes though." Elizabeth warned.

"He will tell you exactly what I have."

"He has nerve damage similar to the Cruciatus curse. I have given him a potion to help soothe the nerves and slightly repair them. That will take away some of the pain. I have also given him a pain relieving potion and a dreamless sleep. How has he been living to get these injuries?"

Makoto stared at her directly to answer. "Our village is not a safe place to grow up. That is all you need to know."

Elizabeth frowned but didn't say anymore on the subject. "He will be knocked out until tomorrow morning. Until then you can stay in one of the guest rooms. Oliver please escort him to one." Elizabeth commanded.

"Yes mother." Oliver stepped forward. "Uh… this way Professor."

Makoto gave the teenager a small smile before he walked forward and picked Kei up from the couch.

"Hey now! He should stay here so I can monitor him throughout the night." Elizabeth protested.

"He stays with me. Kei only sleeps peacefully when he is near a familiar scent. No matter how strong your potion is his body will fight sleep if he's in an unfamiliar place." Makoto informed her.

Elizabeth frowned but merely waved her hand in compliance. "Fine fine, but I will check on him throughout the night."

"Of course." Makoto relented. "Where to ?" Makoto addressed his student.

"Oh, this way." Oliver blinked a few times to understand what was happening but recovered enough to remember his original task. "There's a guest room here on the first floor near the kitchens you can use."

"Thank you." Makoto followed the boy out of the sitting room, carefully cradling Kei to him.

The room was nice, and the bed large enough to fit two people, although with Kei's weird sleeping habits it really only needed to fit one. "Thank you, Mr. Wood."

Oliver gave an embarrassed laugh. "Well call me Oliver. It's weird being called Mr. Wood when I'm in the same house as my dad."

"Oliver then." Makoto relented. He watched the boy shuffle foot to foot and gave a sigh. "Just ask."

Oliver looked up and flushed a little. "Well I was just wondering… have you always been able to understand and speak English?"

Makoto have the boy a mysterious smile. "Yes. I have known as long as Kei has."

Oliver gaped at him a second time. "But… but you always give us a confused look when we try talking to you. And the only English words you have ever said are 'Run', 'Faster', and 'Stop'. Why pretend?"

Makoto chuckled darkly at the question. "I work with Lockhart, if you could fake a language barrier, would you not use it to avoid the man?"

Oliver took a moment to think on the question. "Well… I guess I see your point. If I had a trick up my sleeve yeah I would use it. But way pretend with everyone?"

"The less people who know, the less chance it has to slip. Kei was the only one who knew but we can speak Japanese to each other so there was never a worry, but now that you know…." Makoto trailed off.

"I won't tell!" Oliver was quick to reassure. "I promise I won't tell. I mean you have a good reason not to tell others and it's not like you really need to talk much in class."

Makoto looked the teenager up and down. "You are exactly like Kei described." He stated.

"Is that a good thing?" Oliver asked with a bemused expression.

"Yes, yes it is." Makoto turned away, ending the conversation as he placed Kei onto the bed and started removing some articles of clothing.

Oliver shuffled in place again but he finally gave up and left. Makoto smiled mysteriously again as he regarded his partner. "You attract the most interesting people don't you?"

o.O.o

The Wood family were very close. Every evening that would gather at the dinner table and talk about their days, tell anecdotes, and ask for advice. Kei and Makoto felt like they were intruding, as they sat at the same table, not having much to offer. It's not like they could if they wanted to. But they were fine just observing, wondering if all wizarding families acted like this. Most civilian families did according to Makoto, but he hadn't been with his in so long that his memories were sketchy.

Elizabeth Wood would tell them about the more fascinating patients at the hospital, never naming names, but just curious cases in the accidental magic ward. She was a very commanding woman, but that didn't mean she couldn't express her love towards her husband and son. Robert Wood, was a lord, but he liked to write the quidditch review for the prophet as well. He would travel to various game and summarize the important parts, he would go stadium to stadium and interview the teams, make polls for the season, and just have fun watching quidditch. It was where his son got his enthusiasm for the sport. The two could talk for hours about the sport.

After dinner they all liked to go to the living room and play a game together. There were all sorts of wizarding games to play, and Kei had amazed by them. The first few times he had been asked to join, but he had declined so he could observe. When he did accept he had had a blast and roped Makoto into playing as well.

But tonight he had opted to sit out and watch with Makoto.

"Do you want that Makoto?" Kei asked.

"A wife and son?"

"Yeah."

Makoto hummed and tilted his head back and forth as if weighing his options. "I think I would. I will need someone cute and small in my life once you are gone." Makoto stated confidently.

"Oh? Do you have anyone in mind then?" Kei asked, turning more towards his partner.

"No… but I don't think I could marry a civilian. I am far to use to talking about my life out loud and a civilian would never understand. She wouldn't be able to help me through problems like marrying a kunoichi would. You need to hide things and watch what you say with civilians and I wouldn't want to live like that."

Kei shuddered, "I still think they are demons."

"They truly are, but… if I want a child I will have to overcome that fear and pursue one." Makoto shot back; he was smiling as if he knew a secret that Kei didn't.

"You could marry Anko. She's a great kunoichi." Kei suggested. She was also one of the few kunoichi he had ever dealt with, so she was a safe bet. Plus Kurenai was with Asuma, and they were too much in love to try and break up.

"I could… but I don't think I'm her type. I'm young still; I will find the perfect girl in time."

"Just be happy. Don't pick someone who will make you miserable, because if you do I will come back and haunt you!" Kei warned.

"I promise to find the girl that I will love so completely that my heart sings when I see her, and my body aches when I leave. But what about you Kei… if you weren't going to die and you could pick someone to spend the rest of your life with, who would it be?" Makoto asked.

"I don't know. I think I would be happy just spending the rest of my days with you and Nii-san. Maybe everyone else too." Kei answered seriously. He never entertained the thought because there had never been a point.

"I know that you already love someone, it's just you haven't realized it yet." Makoto teased.

"How do you know if I don't?" Kei pouted.

Makoto chuckled and wrapped an arm around his partner. "Because I am older and wiser and have seen you with them enough times to know that you act differently around them then you do others. You have just been too young and naive to realize it for yourself."

"Will you tell me who?"

"No, I'll show you."

"How?"

"Close your eyes and try to picture waking up beside the person you love. Not me or Kakashi… someone who you would be willing to live with, kiss, hug daily, and spend the night with every night…" Kei blushed heavily as he tried to picture what Makoto was talking about. He learned the truth behind sex and kissing, He knew that Kakashi was trying to keep it from him, but Makoto told him all about it. He knew what doing those activities meant and could he picture someone to do them with? Yes he could.

"I think I know who it would be." Kei whispered, his face still hot as he thought about it.

"Is it Kiba?" Makoto asked with a teasing air.

Kei shook his head. "No. Kiba feels more like a brother. And I don't think I could live with Akamaru... that dog is very territorial over Kiba." Kei answered.

"Is it Itachi?"

Kei laughed. "I do like Itachi, but not in that way. He is too much like Nii-san in my mind. He is someone to hug and cuddle, but not to do that other… stuff with."

"So it's Sasuke." Makoto stated with a smile.

Kei but his bottom lip, trying to hold back his smile. "I think you already know the answer. But I needed help to see it, and it makes sense. It fits…I don't know… but it feels right." Kei tried explaining.

"Do you know when it started?" Makoto asked. It had been the one thing he didn't know, after all his partner had carried on a double life to meet the boy.

Kei took a moment to think, trying to recall all his moments with Sasuke to pinpoint that one instant that his feelings for the boy could have changed.

"When I was pretending to be Yuki, Sasuke would talk about our future together with such certainty that even I could picture it. He talked about how we could eat breakfast together and watch the sun rise over the Uchiha district wall, and how the rays painted pretty pictures on the nearby pond. But I think I truly started to love him when he told me about this special path that leads into the forest from the main house. It's lined with flowers that his ancestors planted and that a Uchiha only walks down it once on their wedding day, and that he couldn't wait for the day he would get to walk it with me at his side.

"My heart beat so fast when he talked about it, and I really want to do it. I could see the two of us walking hand in hand towards the path, and that image made me smile. I think that was the moment things changed, but I had been too blind to see it. But now my heart hurts terribly because I won't ever be allowed to walk that path with Sasuke. Do you think Sasuke would still want to walk that path with me now?" Kei asked. He could feel something squeezing hard on his heart, making his eyes water in pain.

Makoto laughed loudly, drawing the attention of the Woods, but he ignored them. "I believe Sasuke has been in love with you since the moment you met. His feelings have probably only ever wavered when he found out you were a boy, but after they came back but with more force. Even now he is on a dangerous mission, all because he loves you and wants to protect you."

"But you don't know that." Kei argued.

"I do." Makoto chuckled lightly and continued. "I know because if Orochimaru's men hadn't threatened your life, Sasuke never would have gone with them. But because they dared to threaten his biggest weakness –you- he went with them and was more than happy to spy for Konoha. Even now when you meet, it seems like his love for you has grown more and more. I think the greatest gift you could ever give Sasuke would be to tell him that you return his feelings."

"If I see him before the end… I think I'll tell him." Kei stated,

Makoto's smile saddened. "I'm glad. He deserves to know."

Kei grinned and cuddled closer. "And you deserve a good wife, so don't wait too long to start looking."

"Well if you promise to haunt me until I find one, I don't think I will ever start looking." Makoto commented.

* * *

Omake Theatre (back again!)

I know y'all missed these, so here's a new one.

**OMAKE**

"_The worst excuse is always the best excuse."_

Louis sneaked down the stairs and into the parlour where the Christmas presents were waiting. He was curious on what he got and had decided that he couldn't sleep until his curiosity was sated. Thus he had a house elf inform him when his family were in bed and he had scrambled to get down the stairs as fast as possible. He as getting faster under Kei's teachings and he was greatly proud of his success, even if he couldn't tell his family. That would be against the Ninja Code.

Getting inside the room, Louis grabbed the first present with his name and was slowly peeling back the paper when candles lit up and a voice startled him "What are you doing?" Louis held perfectly still, hoping that if he didn't make any sudden movements his brother would not see him. "I can see you sitting there with that present," Adrian accused.

Louis sighed and turned around, casting for a good excuse. "There was a burglar." He tried.

"A burglar?" Adrian challenged.

"Yes." Louis could roll with this. "It was a giant rat I saw him trying to take this present. But I stopped him, I did! I ran inside and snatched the gift from his tail and scared him away. I was just checking the gift to make sure that it didn't come to any harm."

"What?" Adrian asked in complete disbelief.

Louis saw his chance. He put the present down and proudly stood up and walked right past his stunned brother and back to his room. When Adrian finally came to, Louis could feign sleep and try to wave the entire situation off by accusing his brother of having weird dreams. Yup, that was his plan and he was sticking to it, because the worst excuse was always the best excuse.

* * *

*Fluffs pillow, stretched back and arms, cracks knuckles, and sits back* Okay, bring on the Sasuke hate. I know y'all hate him, I mean in the anime and manga he's a complete douchebag…. But… lets trying thinking of my Sasuke -the little boy who befriended a ghost and wanted to ask God to make her real so he could marry her, the same Sasuke who only went to Orochimaru because the sound guys threatened to kill Kei while he was weak in the hospital. Also, my Sasuke isn't dead set against getting revenge on his brother, so I think that raises him a few levels in awesomeness. So, you know… try giving him a chance.

Oh! And I apologize to everyone I made cry last chapter, but to be fair, I was blubbering like a giant baby when I wrote it, so don't feel bad.

**Battle Results**

Food Obsessed: Ron – 28, T-1, Naruto- 3 Cool Canine: Paddy-15, T-2, Pakkun-17

**Battle Royale!**

Who spends more time on their hair? Ino vs. Draco

Who has a stick further up their asses? The elders Koharu and Homura vs. Snape and McGonagall

(I have wanted to ask the last one for awhile, but I wasn't sure who to pair Snape and McGonagall with until I wrote this chapter)


	46. Chapter 46

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way.

**Warnings**: Language, OC'ness, Het, Slash, twists and turns, fluff, smut, and abuse to the author, character death, violence.

There's a big authors note at the end, I'm sorry.

**Wandering Wiles**

Makoto watched his partner from the head table and had to try hard to prevent himself from going down there and helping him. Kei had informed him that if they wanted the ward stone down by the end of the year, he would need to increase the amount of magic he put into to it each week. Makoto wanted to protest and demand Kei actually rest some between deposits but Kei was stubborn and firmly told him that this was the only way to protect Konoha. Makoto knew he was right, so despite knowing that Kei would remain weak and tired the rest of the year he held in his protests.

Only, now that they were back and he had to watch as Kei tiredly lifted his spoon to his mouth to eat a little beef stew, he wanted to protest again. Kei could attend the rest of the year running on energy potions and still maintain his cover, but Makoto could see the worried and questioning eyes being sent Kei's way by the staff and students. It was one thing for the ever bright Hufflepuff to have a quiet night once in a while, but for that same Hufflepuff to look like he was one breeze away from collapsing was another. Professor Sprout was barely holding herself back from marching down to her house and pushing Kei towards the infirmary. The only reason she seemed to quell her urge was because Kei was in the care of his two friends.

"This is so frustrating," Sprout huffed as she continued to stare at Kei. "I want to know what is wrong, but I don't think the boy will answer me and the only person who probably knows the answers can't speak English. Why the headmaster hired someone who can't communicate is beyond me." She cast a wary eye towards Makoto and Dumbledore.

"To be fair, you should place some blame on Amelia Bones. It was that woman's idea to start a fitness regime," Snape helpfully added.

Makoto kept silent, carrying on as if ignorant to their words.

"Oh! I think it was a splendid idea. I would have had a much easier time with that Armenian werewolf had I been in a more fit state to tackle him head on," Lockhart joined the party. Makoto rolled his eyes at the man's words. He was of the opinion Lockhart would have had an easier time running away from the werewolf, had he been in a more fit state at the time.

"Well now that you have your own personal trainer right here at Hogwarts with you, maybe you can whip yourself into shape and tackle this pest we seem to have. Several students left petrified in the hallway is right up your alley I would think. Who knows, maybe if Professor Shindo can teach you to run fast enough, you can slay the beast and get your new book published in one night," Snape said with a sneer.

Lockhart chuckled and seemed to let the other man's words slip right off him. "Oh my dear Severus, you don't know a thing about writing do you? It takes more than one night to properly articulate the events after such a battle. You need time to sit down and correctly remember all the details, what you were thinking at the time, and the atmosphere of it all. You want to really grab your readers and drag them in so that they feel like they are experiencing it all with you. That takes more than one night, no matter how fast I ran or write."

Snape sent the man another glare, "I see…" he drawled.

"But Severus is right… We do need to do something about these attacks," Sprout said.

"What more can we do? We have patrols set up; students have a tighter curfew… Until the victims wake and tell us what attacked them, we don't know what to be prepared for," Snape responded.

"I know but… what if more students get hurt. One died last time and I don't know what I would if that happened again. That poor girl…" Sprout trailed off. She sent another worried look towards her house, as if reassuring herself that her badgers were all safe and accounted for. "And now the mystery health of young Hatake…"

Snape scoffed. "You can force him into the hospital wing. He won't talk about it and since no one can translate what Shindo says, charm or not, than I can bet Madam Pomfrey will be more then welcome to tell you exactly what is wrong with him."

"I might. I'll give him one night and see if he's better in the morning. It would be foolish to worry over him if he might just be nauseous from all the travelling. He is from Japan and all… If he's not better in the morning I will escort him to the hospital wing," Sprout decided aloud.

Makoto mentally frowned. He would need to see if he could keep a genjutsu up on Kei to make him look healthy. He certainly couldn't strain his partners body more than it already was, and neither wanted Kei landed in the hospital wing where their plans could be interfered with. They would work this out.

o.O.o

That night, Kei snuck into Makoto's room like normal. Makoto had sent him a silent message at dinner that they needed to talk, and Kei thought he partially knew what it was about. His friends had been very concerned when they first spotted him on the train, and hadn't left his side since; worried he'd faint at any given moment. It was hard to shake them, so he needed to wait until the two had fallen asleep.

Once inside his partner's rooms, Kei sat heavily down on the couch to rest. "What's wrong Makoto?" He asked tightly in Japanese, happy to go back to his native tongue. He was exhausted and wanted to sleep and having to constantly translate English in his head wasn't helping.

"The teachers have noticed your current state and are planning to force you to the healer if you aren't better come morning. I'm going to put an illusion on you, but that will only trick their eyes. They will notice if you still act weak. I want you to avoid doing as much physical activity as possible. No walking on the walls, no snow fights with the other students, and you will sit out during my class," Makoto lectured.

Kei nodded his head, understanding his partner's concern. "I can spend time in the library, researching."

"Good. Kei, I hate doing this, but if you at any point can no longer maintain this charade then I will take you and that ward stone back to Konoha and have you finish there, under the care of Rikoto. And you know that if that happens, Kakashi will learn about everything."

"I know, I know! Makoto, instead of worrying about the future lets worry about now and hiding my condition. And we can't go back to Konoha. There is still too much we don't know… what if we mess up somehow and the ward stone collapses? We need the Hogwarts resources in order to prevent that."

Makoto huffed as he ran a hand over his face. "A partially complete ward stone is better than risking you and having you end up under the scrutiny of the wizards. If they take you to the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey is bound to discover the irregularities in your body and send you to the hospital. There they will run tests and experiments … who knows what will happen."

Kei stood and walked over to his partner. Grabbing the older shinobi's hand, Kei cradled it against his chest. "Do you regret coming here?"

"I don't know… sometimes…" Makoto pulled Kei towards him and into a comforting embrace. "I hate being away from home, I hate seeing you push yourself until you can barely stand, and I hate that we can't do anything except research and hope this stone turns out alright. But I love spending those quiet days in peace, I love seeing you joke around an act like a civilian your age with the other students. I love the goal we have set ourselves, but I hate the reasons why.

"But what I really hate the most is all those teachers. For Kami's sake you think they were saving the world from doom with how the talk about essays and how offended they are with some of them. Snape is the worst. By the way he talks, it's like a student has personally destroyed his entire cauldron collection whenever they make a spelling mistake. Kei, you don't know how suffering it is to sit with them every meal."

Kei spoke with a giggle, "Do you think the academy teachers are the same? How much do you think they complained whenever Naruto handed something in?"

Makoto chuckled. "I rather not. Gah… that boy is impossible to teach some days. He has no patience. If I were the academy teachers, I would probably comfort myself with an Uchiha or Hyuuga assignment after reading Naruto's work. They wouldn't hand in anything that wasn't perfect in their eyes."

Kei cuddled in closer to his partner. "Do they give out lots of homework in the academy? I wasn't there long enough to really experience it."

"Not as much as Hogwarts gives. In the academy it's a lot of practical work. They try to get the students into shape so they can defend themselves. There's target practice, basic chakra work. They normally just want you to read. Read about chakra, the history of Konoha so the students know what they are protecting. I think the first assignment I was ever assigned was from a teacher that wanted us to put a leaf on our forehead. He said we were distracted little bastards that needed to understand the importance of concentrating. If the leaf fell it meant we weren't concentrating properly. We had to spend the whole day and night keeping the leaf in place and if it ever fell we were to record how many times. Then the next day he told us to call out the number of times the leaf fell, and when we did he said that's how many times we died in the field for not paying attention. We all took the academy much more seriously after that," Makoto explained.

"I see… Nii-san taught me differently."

"How so?" Makoto asked.

Kei took a deep breath and thought back on the memory. "When I was three he took me to the woods and taught me the Hatake way of being a ninja. He told me stories of his time growing up fighting, all about the war with Iwa. But he also told me about his father, the man who he idolized… I remember something Nii-san told me that time, it was something his father once told him before he went to the academy, '_our lifestyle isn't easy and the higher you go the less rewarding, but when you except that forehead protector you make a commitment to the village, pledging your life to her defense. The village will nurture you, protect you, and you must do the same for her. When you die, if you die with a smiling heart knowing you have done everything to protect her, then you die the most honourable death on earth_.'

"I didn't understand at the time, but now I do. When I think of moments like that, I can't help but idolize my brother for being such a great man and shinobi, even after everything he's been through. I hope that Naruto, Sakura, and other shinobi will see that and try to live like him, with no regrets and absolute love for the village."

"Some already do. You, his students… any future students he gets will see it as well and those students will teach their students and it will go on and on... and even when Kakashi dies as an old man there will be shinobi like him in Konoha."

Kei smiled at the thought. "But hopefully less lazy than Nii-san. If they are as lazy as him then nothing would get done."

Makoto laughed and buried his face in Kei's hair. "But remember, there will also be women like Tsunade and Tsume, strong women that will hit them into submission and keep the village running smoothly. There will always be Kakashi's and there will always be Tsume's."

"And there will always be Makoto's, those shinobi who watch silently and understand. Makoto's are pillars, holding the village up while the Kakashi's and Tsume's are the walls, protecting the village from enemies," Kei added.

"And the Kei's… the prodigies that sacrifice themselves," Makoto continued.

"There should be double, no triple, the amount of Makoto's than Kei's though. Kei's are like paper bombs, one time use."

Makoto sighed. "Kei's are like fires. Bright, shining, and warm, but smothered out before their time comes. Kei's are needed, wanted and loved, but taken away far too quickly," Makoto tightened his hold as he whispered, "but enough of this. Talking is not doing any good and you need to rest. Back to your dorm."

Kei slowly drew away from Makoto and smiled. He needed to listen. Makoto was older, wiser than him and while he knew Makoto wasn't perfect, he still knew that his partner had a better understanding of their situation than him. He needed to rest and gather strength and leave the rest up to his partner.

Walking to the door, Kei opened it and stepped outside before Makoto's hand dropped down on his shoulder and turned his around. Makoto knelt down so they were more level with each other as he spoke, "I will sneak into your dorm in the morning and place a genjutsu on you before the others wake."

Kei tiredly nodded his head and attempted to fix his cuddle mused shirt. "I'll see you in the morning then."

"Sleep well Kei," Makoto said softly before leaving forward and placing a kiss on his forehead. "I know it's hard, but we will get through this together."

Kei smiled at his partner before he left. Makoto's really were pillars, full of support and strength. As he walked down the hallway back to Hufflepuff, Kei couldn't help but wish for his partner to get his one genin team to train. He would do an amazing job with them.

o.O.o

Kei kept his promise and tried to exert as little physically energy as possible. So far, they were able to fool everyone into thinking he was healthy again, which was a relief since Sprout stopped looking at him with such worried eyes. He spent a lot of time in the library among the books and shelves, studying runes and anything related. His friends would come with him for a bit, completing their homework together before they took off. They were young and bursting with energy so Kei didn't mind being left alone to study.

But while Sprout and his friends let him be, Kei noticed an increase in his number of stalkers. Draco stopped lurking in the shadows and was now sitting at the same table as him, occasionally looking at him over the top of some old tome. The red-headed twins still followed him around, and while their stalking skills needed work, Kei left them be.

Hermione Granger, a second year Gryffindor also took time away from her studies to creep around the bookshelves and watch him. He also spotted her following Makoto a few times and carefully scrutinizing his interactions with other students. But besides those four, he noticed that a red head that looked akin to the twins was watching him with narrowed and hostile eyes. Kei decided to ignore them all; except Draco because the boy was a wealth of knowledge about everything regarding the wizarding world and his father would send him any books form their personal family library when asked. Not that Kei did, but the blond did offer.

He had been very good about keeping his promise, but he was growing restless. He needed a little action and excitement in his life, and reading wasn't giving that to him. It was Friday, the day before he needed to put more magic into the stone, and Kei decided he would exert a small amount of energy doing something interesting. He decided to confront one of his stalkers and find out what was so fascinating about him that they needed to follow him. He chose the twins.

He waited until they were a bookcase away watching him before he acted. Closing his current book, Kei stretched his arms and stood up with a grunt. "Ne, so stuffy…" He muttered loud enough for the twins to hear. He allowed them time to prepare themselves and whisper about trailing him as he packed his bag.

Happy they were unknowingly playing along; Kei left the library with a small nod to Draco, as the blond watched him with suspicious eyes. He could understand since Kei usually wasted time in the library until curfew; he didn't leave early these days. As he passed Hermione's hidden corner he could see the girl start to scramble to collect her things. Apparently she was going to try and follow as well, but Kei couldn't have that. Speeding up Kei was out of the library and around the corner before she could finish grabbing her quills. He knew the twins could find him, he didn't know how, but he knew they could so he didn't worry.

Looking around, Kei pushed a small bit of chakra to his feet and leapt onto the top of a large picture frame. Standing on the frame, Kei leaned back and hid in the shadows, waiting for the twins to arrive. As the pair took the corner, Kei spotted one of them holding a large section of parchment and looking at it seriously.

"He's here Fred, it says so on the map," The parchment holding one spoke.

"George, look around, there's nothing in this hallway except paintings. Can he turn invisible or something?"

"How am I supposed to know? The kid disappears all the time. He might be able to."

Kei waited for them to walk past his painting before he dropped down silently behind them. Reaching between them, Kei snatched the parchment from the one twin's hands and studied it.

"Hey!" they both cried.

Kei was impressed with the map. It showed the entire school with little labeled dots showing everyone current location. "This is interesting…" Kei trailed off as he saw Makoto in his rooms. What interested him though was the tiny dot 'Hermione Granger' camped out by his door.

"That is not for the eyes of little children," one twin spoke as he reached to take the map.

Kei sidestepped his attempts and kept staring at the map. "Where did you get this?" He asked them, managing to evade all their attempts to steal back the map.

"Who says we didn't make it ourselves?" The second twin, Fred, asked. Listening to their speech patterns Kei was able to tell them apart. George spoke with a very clean and crisp tone, well Fred tended to draw out his words a bit. Not noticeable to most people, but as a person trained to read each and every nuance of an enemy he could hear it.

"There's four names at the top," Kei pointed out simply," and only two of you."

Fred draped his arm over Kei's shoulders and pulled his close. "You are a smart little badger aren't you? But who made this lovely map is beside that point."

"What matters is you and your disappearing act," George jumped in.

"We've seen you all over this castle and we don't know how you do it."

"Whenever we try to catch you, we can't find you."

"So why not be a dear and tell us how you do it?"

"We'll make it worth your while…" They tried to tempt him.

Kei folded the map and hid it on his person in a blink of an eye, leaving the duo stunned. "What do you plan to trade me for my secret, and what do you plan to give me for your map back?" Kei asked.

The pair grinned at him. "We have a snake hidden in badger skin, don't we Fred?"

"That we do George that we do."

George put a hand in the middle of Kei's back and directed him towards a door. "You see Mr. Hatake, Fred and I are inventors…"

"Entrepreneurs really," Fred cut in.

"Yes, we have inventions, products if you will, and you might just be interested in them," George explained.

Once in the room, Fred started pulling items from various parts of his robe. "You see here at Weasley and Weasley -it's a working title- we provide entertainment to the bored masses."

"Right now we don't have many of our own products, but we're working on trick treats," George added "It's harder than it looks creating custard creams that turn the eater into canaries, or making nougat with a nosebleed side effect."

"So while those are in production, what we can offer is any Zonko product in our possession up for trade."

Kei stared between the two in thought. These two were something else. "So you're making a custard cream…that will turn people into birds…" Well magic amazed even him some days, but these two… if they had shinobi training they would be terrorize the other nations.

"Well we're still working on it," Fred started, but allowed George to take over the explanation. "Potions are naturally foul tasting, and the only way to get the canary cream to work would be if we could make it look, taste, and smell like a real custard cream-"

Fred stepped in again, "but if we play and alter the taste, we might change the basic function of the potion and instead of the consumer turning into a canary, they might end up a kitten… or poisoned… "

"But like we said, we're working on it," George concluded.

Kei grinned as he stared at the two in a whole new light. "Please tell me more," he asked as he reproduced their map and handed it over in a show of good faith.

The pair smirked and welcomed him with open arms, "Our pleasure," they said together.

o.O.o

Makoto would be lying if he said he liked Hogwarts, he really hated the castle. At odd moments of the day he would feel someone watching him but when he tried to track the perpetrator the magic of the castle would throw him off. It started to irk him that he couldn't catch the person.

Currently he was relaxing in his rooms and he felt that same presence lurking around outside. He knew it wasn't Kei, it was nearly impossible for anybody to try and trick him with his partner's appearance. He knew Kei's aura and presence better than he knew the pudding menu at his favourite restaurant. It was definitely a witch or wizard outside, but since they didn't have the developed chakra he couldn't track them like he normally would.

As he was planning a series of traps to catch them he could feel his partner approaching. Sitting up in anticipation, Makoto smiled widely as Kei stepped into his rooms, "_Makoto_!" he cried in Japanese, "_I just learned something awesome_."

Makoto felt the presence fleeing, and he was grateful since he could give his full attention to his partner. "_And what is that_?"

"_You know those twins that follow me? They can turn people into birds_," Kei stated slowly to let him fully comprehend.

Makoto smiled gently at his partner's innocent fascination and pulled him over to sit together on the couch. He let Kei rest against his side as encouraged Kei to go on, "_And how do they do that_?"

"_It sounds simple but the way they explained it its actually hard. It's all about potions, and you know how bad I'm at those, and how they need to change it and adapt it to fit their needs. It's all trial and error and they study potion ingredients and interactions as much as we study runes and wards. I think if they could properly complete it then I could_-"

Kei was cut out when Makoto's door was blasted open and McGonagall stepped in cutting an intimidating picture. Makoto was confused since he hadn't even felt her approach, and that worried him more than her wand pointed at him.

"Professor, what's going on?" Kei asked in English.

"Mr. Hatake, I must ask you to step away from Professor Shindo slowly. Once you are behind me, in a safe area, I shall proceed to detain Professor Shindo," She spoke tightly.

"I don't understand Professor, has Makoto done something wrong?" Kei didn't move. If she was going to attack him, then Kei staying where he was at present was Makoto's best defense; as it seemed McGonagall didn't want to hurt his partner.

"He's forcing you into an inappropriate relationship!" A high pitched voiced piped up from behind McGonagall. Makoto peeked behind the other teacher and spotted Granger, a second year peeking into the room.

"Miss Granger! I told you to stay in my office as I took care of this!" McGonagall snapped. Makoto raised an eyebrow at her harsh words but stayed silent.

"What do you mean inappropriate?" Kei asked for further clarification. Makoto was curious too.

McGonagall's glared deepened. "Miss Granger came to me in hysterics claiming that Professor Shindo was forcing himself on you in a sexual way Mr. Hatake."

"It's true Professor! I saw Hatake leaving Professor Shindo's rooms late at night and his clothes were mused and then Professor Shindo kissed him. And then I observed that Professor Shindo watches Hatake all the time, and when they are together he always touches him, and-"

"Miss Granger! That is enough. I will handle this, and then we will talk about your late adventures and reasons for being out of bed." McGonagall stopped her.

Kei's eyes widened as he turned to Makoto, "_Is she stupid_?" He asked in Japanese.

Makoto laughed which was really inappropriate for the situation. "_Tell her to send Granger away and I will explain_," Makoto softly commanded his partner. Ah, meddling students, he didn't think anticipate this but at least it wasn't an enemy.

"Professor McGonagall, Makoto says he can explain everything, but requests you send Miss Granger away. He wishes to protect our privacy in this matter, but he can safely reassure Miss Granger that we are not in that type of relationship."

Granger scoffed, "He didn't say that! Your translation as much longer than what he said."

"Miss Granger!" McGonagall snapped again. "You will hold your tongue. Go back to my office right now or I will give you detention."

Granger sent him a glare but she scurried off quickly at McGonagall's threat. Once she was away, McGonagall pierced Makoto with her toughest glare yet. "Mr. Hatake, please ask him to explain and tell him he better have a damn good explanation, because your current positions are not helping the matter."

"Gah… students are so nosy," Makoto spoke in English, clearing shocking the Scottish woman.

"You can speak English Professor Shindo?" McGonagall looked stunned.

"Yes, always could. It's just more entertaining to pretend not to understand," He explained. "And for the record I am not forcing myself on Kei. Your student is merely misunderstanding our relationship."

McGonagall seemed to come back to her senses at his words and tightened her hold on her wand. "And what type of relationship do you two have?" she asked.

Makoto took a deep breath before explaining. "I have known Kei since he was very young, you could say I am like his other older brother. When his brother was unable to take care of him, I helped raise Kei in his place. We are very close and I do look on Kei fondly, but I would never abuse the position in which his older brother has given me. I love Kei too much as brother to ever harm him in such a way."

McGonagall's eyes softened but her wand stood firm. "I am in a difficult position right now as Miss Granger has informed me she has seen you kiss Mr. Hatake, and watched him entering and exiting your personal quarters several times at various hours of the day. To ignore her words could put me in a difficult position if her claims turn out to be true."

Makoto gently nudged Kei to get him to take over, knowing his partner could work the woman much better than him in this regard.

Kei turned his body and kneeled on the couch, further shielding Makoto, not that McGonagall had caught on. "I know it doesn't seem like he's telling the truth right now but he is…You see… it's been hard for me coming here," Kei started. Makoto could tell his partner was pretending to struggle with his words and it made him want to smirk. "Hogwarts is so different from our home, and it's hard to adapt. I mean, the customs are so weird and I don't know when I'm doing something right or wrong and with my brother in his current situation sometimes it all catches up to me and I feel like I'm about to break down and when that happens I just need Makoto to give me hug and tell me it's going to be okay."

McGonagall's eyes softened even more as his partner spoke.

"You probably don't know this Professor but my brother is fighting for his life right now. He is working hard to change our country and better it for all the citizens but there's lots of mean people out there that want him dead. He fights for his life and the rights of our people every day and I want to be there helping him but… he sent me here to be safe. I don't know if today or tomorrow will be his last day and… and… when those thoughts catch up to me, no matter how hard I try it's just…" Kei started to silently cry, and McGonagall's wand fell a few centimetres.

"It's hard for him and me Professor," Makoto took over. "Kei is still young and I don't know how many nights he has come to me in tears after a nightmare of his brother dying. The night in question, when Miss Granger saw me kiss Kei, it was only on the forehead the first night back. Kei needed to hear that he wasn't a bad brother for coming back to Hogwarts instead of staying at his brother's side."

McGonagall's wand finally dropped to her side. "I see… I think I understand. There was a time, not too long ago when our world was at war. People were dying every day, attacks were happening everywhere, and every one prayed for news but at the same time feared it in case it brought the death announcement of a close friend or relative. For you to be suffering through that now truly pains me Mr. Hatake."

Kei wiped away his tears. "I didn't want to tell anyone and have them worry but since it seems our silence on our home's turmoil has caused a big mess…"

"Is that why you looked so tired and sick on the first night back?" McGonagall asked.

Kei nodded. "I spent the two days leading up to return trip crying and not sleeping. I didn't want to waste a single minute sleeping when I could be spending it with my brother."

McGonagall used a cough to hide he sniffle and looked away. "Well, I must apologize for thinking the worst of you Professor Shindo. You have been shouldering all this pain and worry yourself, and I could only jump to conclusions and believe a young girl's histrionics. If you wish, I could speak to the Headmaster, he might be able to send some wizards to aid your brother in his pursuits," the teacher offered.

Kei bit his lip and looked away. "But Professor…" he said quietly, "my brother is a muggle."

McGonagall's eyes went wide. "But I thought…" she looked quickly between Kei and Makoto as if looking for something between them.

Makoto leaned forward and took a chance. "It was a shock for us all to learn that Kei had magic… but when we did learn Kakashi looked into all the schools he could and decided that Kei would be safest here at Hogwarts. I was sent to help Kei in the process."

"Discovered he had magic? But surely Professor Shindo, as a wizard yourself, you must have known Kei had magic when you first met. Isn't that why you stayed with him?"

This was the truly tricky part. Makoto looked away, portraying his pretend shame at his next confession. "I must apologize to you and all the staff Professor McGonagall but, I'm not a wizard. I'm a muggle as well."

McGonagall gasped and looked around fiercely. "But how? How are you here at Hogwarts if you don't have magic?" She asked.

Kei fidgeted. "Well, since my brother is such a large political figure… he was able to gain contact with Amelia Bones and she helped create a position for Makoto."

McGonagall collapsed in Makoto's free armchair and stared at them. "I don't know what to say to all this… this is a lot to take in. Never… in the history of this school… a muggle… But Professor Shindo, I have seen with my own eyes you perform some feats that no normal muggle can do."

Makoto have the woman a gentle smile. "Even someone without magic can do some pretty amazing things when they put their mind to it. I know it must be hard to understand and I know I am overstepping my bounds, but I hope you will keep our secrets. Kei doesn't want the school to know of his home life, and I would prefer is my ability to speak and understand English remained between us."

McGonagall sent him a small glare and lightly scolded him, "that is a rude trick to play on us all Professor Shindo. To think we had become so frustrated at our inability to communicate with you and you have been silently laughing at us all."

Makoto looked properly chastised by her words. "I know, but you sat beside Lockhart a few times, can you completely blame me?"

McGonagall's glare dropped as he laughed quietly. "True. That man…why sometimes I just wish I could shoot a silencing spell at him. Do you know how many times I have had to listen to him talk about his future cosmetics line? It's ridiculous the time he uses debating over periwinkle blue and powder blue mascara, when he should be teaching."

Makoto grinned as he knew in that moment she would keep all their secrets. It was nice to be able to manipulate people into following their plans. Smiling at the woman, Makoto spoke, "I'm glad you understand and we were able to clear this all up. But as much as I wish we could continue to talk, I believe there's an overly curious second year waiting in your office, Professor."

McGonagall straightened up at his words. "Too right you are Professor Shindo. I will go explain to Miss Granger that you are not in fact sexually molesting Mr. Hatake, and that she needs to tone down her detective exploits. Falsely accusing a professor in such a nature is a punishable offence. I will have a very stern talking to with her, don't worry about that, and I will strongly discourage her from spying on you at night." Standing up and straightening her robes, McGonagall left after fixing his door.

"_Well that was fun_," Makoto laughed.

Kei giggled as he cuddled into his side. "_She should be able to clear up any other suspicions that come our way. Now if she could only stop Granger and that red head following me, life would be better_."

Makoto hugged his partner tightly and laughed. "_This school isn't completely boring. I still hate it but it's amusing. Now what were you talking about before? Something about canaries_…"

Kei perked up and smiled. _"I have befriended two geniuses_!"

o.O.o

**OMAKE**

_Never let others see you eat._

Louis looked around, observing everyone around him, waiting for that one perfect moment. When it looked like everyone was finally looking elsewhere, he jabbed a piece of meat on his plate and shoved it towards his mouth as quickly as possible.

"Louis…why did you just stab your cheek with a piece of beef?" Chris asked.

Louis pouted. Not letting other see you eat was a lot harder than he thought, since he kept missing his mouth and had yet to actually eat a single bite of his meal.

"No wonder Kei is so small and skinny…no one can eat under these conditions!" he exploded, confusing his friend and the people round him. Looking to his little white haired friend for guidance, Louis was shocked to see Kei wipe his full plate clean in under a second. He hadn't even seen his lift his fork!

Louis felt this eyes water as he dropped to his knees and bowed his head in submission to Kei. "I never should have doubted you master!"

Kei was truly a master ninja.

**o.O.o.O.o.O.o**

* * *

**Results:**

_Stick_**: Elders- 45**, Tie-1, McSnape- 8 _HairCare_: Ino-13, Tie-5, **Draco-38**

**Battle Royale**

Battle of the Crazy Eyes: Madeye Moody vs. Uchiha's.

This battle suggestion made me giggle and I kept thinking 'Crazy Eye!' as I counted votes.

* * *

**A/N:** A Reviewer left me a review with lots of questions, and pointed out some faults to my story, and I know others had expressed the some thoughts, so I figured I would post the review and my response and answer those that are still wondering.

"There are many good things about this story, but there are equally as many bad things. For instance what would make Kei so suicidal. People who have a possibility to be healed dont just decide to kill themselves via killing enemy terrorists. It just isnt something a person raised in a loving family decides on doing. he is also supposed to be a genius so wouldnt he see the pros of staying alive and continuing warding... why just one ward when you have many. The benefits of having a wizard in konoha makes more sense then just killing himself to kill some bad guy that, at this point, we only know they are collecting the biju. I mean at this point they are just a minor annoyance which scares people cause they have s ranked members. You also have the sorcerors stone but we never heard what the reaction was from dumbledor... an artifact of that strength goes missing and no one worries about it? Harry potter is missing and it isnt a bigger deal? So even if by some chance you allow the sorceror's stone to work as a heal for Kei... who is gonna tell him what it is... maybe one his death bed the dogs will be there and a wizard who knows what it is will be there? The last thing that bugs me is this sudden love for sasuke... i seriously cant see it happening... ffs hes barely had contact with sasuke while he has had a much better and closer relation with kiba and itachi and even his partner... fuck even that girl 10 chapters back had a better relationship then harry and sasuke.

On the flip side i think you did an excellent job with the actual story, outside of those glaring issues. I loved the sillyness that overlay'd the serious issues. Kakashi is hillarious and decently developed, but Tsunade is a bit weird. I dont really understand her as the Tsunade of cannon would have had a shit load of grief over Kei's loss of eye. I really like the partner character. This is a pretty long story, so alot fo the issues i talked about are things you probably didnt see while you were writing it... but i still liked your story! I probably wont continue it from this point on as i dont understand how sasuke and kei is even a viable pairing with the relationship they have and i dont really care for the whole im committing suicide by killing akatsuki. Anyhow please keep writing! hopefully i will come across one of your stories again!" **–Reviewer**

_So I will just paste exactly what I said to them in response, and hopefully quell any more questions on this. If you are still confused after reading my response, then PM me and I will answer more in depth for you._

"All good questions, and I had hoped I answered some of them earlier but maybe I didn't explain well.

Kei's suicide. I wouldn't say he is suicidal, but a realist. He knows his body is failing, and he accepts that. He knows that even if he were to get better, his body is past the point where he could return to being a shinobi. He is only two shakes away from being a vegetable currently. He knows that and as a person, raised by a shinobi to be a shinobi, there is no way he is going to heal and accept a life as a civilian. He was not bred to live a peaceful life. Condemning him to a life as an ordinary citizen where he can't help the village he loves, would be worse than a death sentence. He would see his brother and friends using chakra, going on missions, and he would know that he could no longer do that, and grow bitter. Instead of committing himself to that type of life, he is going to die in a shinobi way- fighting until his last breath, because in his mind that is the most respectable way to die. When a soldier joins the military during wartime, are they suicidal? No. They are brave and honourable for wanting to help their country by defending it. That is Kei's mindset.

Wards. Kei created a multiple wardset to protect Konoha. It is his gift to the village where the only people who will know about it are Makoto and the Hokage. Magic isn't common knowledge, and what would the people think? A Shinobi with powers different and in some cases stronger than regular shinobi? Something like a Kekkei Genkai? He would be hunted by other villages, making Konoha even more of a target. Look at all the trouble the clans go through to protect their bloodline limits and now a famous clan, already known for the skills, has another trick to play with? That wont go over well. Why expose that? Plus he's dying, what would be the point? If he can't carry on as a shinobi, why would his body be able to perform great feats of magic? A hovering paintbrush can only do so much when the village is under attack, and Kei wouldn't be able to cope with his less than able body.

Itachi is directly connected to the Akatsuki, and because of his annual meetings, he has told Kei and konoha their entire plan. They are collecting the biju and why. With that, and wanting Itachi to be free from his spying role, Kei is going to take out the Akatsuki and let itachi finally return home.

The Stone. When I wrote that, I only wanted to pay homage to the first book. Say "Look, Hogwarts, year one!" I never actually thought it would become such a big issue. Kei stole the stone because it was being guarded, and when something is being guarded like that, well... it's damn tempting for a ninja to steal. So he stole it. Then it turned out to be a pretty rock, he gave it to his dog as an accessory. He doesn't know what it is or what it does. How would he know? You don't advertise the stone living at Hogwarts in the paper or the fact it was stolen. The wizarding world is thus left ignorant of the theft, and Kei has no way of ever knowing what he stole. How can he use something he doesn't know he has. If i had known it would be such an issue having him steal the stone, I probably would have omitted the entire scene.

Sasuke love. I wouldn't say it's sudden. Kei pretended to be Yuki and got close to Sasuke. It was a moment in his life when he was away from being Kei, away from being a shinobi, and got to act as a friend and guide to hurt and confused boy. They grew close. Kei spent years doing that, meeting with Sasuke in secret. He is closer to Sasuke than he would be Kiba, because they got to share those special moments together, while he had to keep them a secret from his brother and his best friend. Then watching as his friend sacrificed himself to protect Kei, meeting him only once in awhile to ensure he's okay, those small special moments with a person you hold dear, why wouldn't he love Sasuke? Why wouldn't he think of his friend constantly, and look back on their special moments together fondly until he comes to the slow realization that he loves the older boy. I dropped so many hints leading up to that moment, that most readers weren't as surprised. Some were upset yes, but not "OMG I DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING" surprised. Kiba is a good friend, but with Akamaru in the way it would never work. Itachi is another older brother, he protects and trains Kei, but he wont be seen beyond that. Neither have those special moments of peace and tranquility with Kei like Sasuke does.

I hope that answered your questions and gave you a better understanding of where I was coming from when I wrote. I thank you for your compliments, and while it does suck you wont stick around for the remainder of the story, I understand. I hope you do find another of my stories that wont frustrate you as much, or at least a better HP/Naruto story out there that will entertain you. Happy Holiday and have a good New year =)"- **my response**.


	47. Chapter 47

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. I do own the plot and some OC's along the way.

**Warnings**: Language, OC'ness, Het, Slash, twists and turns, fluff, smut, and abuse to the author, character death, violence.

**Searching Steps**

Being summoned by Orochimaru was a mixed blessing. It meant that Sasuke was going to gain more information about the man through his training, or he would be given a mission that would allow him to leave the man's lair. But it also meant that he had to spend time in the man's presence, he had to tolerate his creepy wandering eyes, and he had to pretend to enjoy being there.

Sasuke had kept his mask up so far, first treating the man with a mixture of awe and revulsion. He knew that he couldn't show up and instantly like the Snake Sannin, that would only give him away. Over time he led the man to believe that he liking all the specialized training, and that he was starting to feel blessed to be in his mere presence. But that wasn't true. Sasuke wanted nothing more than to drive a kunai through Orochimaru's throat and chop off his long disgusting tongue. He wanted to watch as the life left Orochimaru's eyes, glad to be the one that avenged Konoha and got rid of one if the village's biggest failures. Because that's all Orochimaru was. He was a failure to Konoha. Yes he was a genius and he was strong, but if you couldn't learn to be loyal and love Konoha than you failed the first lesson the academy tried to teach every student.

Throwing those thoughts away for the moment, Sasuke kneeled in front of his pretend master, lowering his head in submission as he awaited Orochimaru's command.

"Sasuke-kun…" Orochimaru hissed in pleasure. "You always come so quickly when I call."

"Yes Orochimaru-sama," he replied.

"Sasuke-kun, did you know you talk in your sleep?" Sasuke froze at the unexpected question. He couldn't…. he shouldn't.

"I wasn't aware Orochimaru-sama." He tried to keep his voice even but he could hear the slight waver at the start.

The Sannin chuckled. "Yes, my snakes sometimes like to wander at night; they seem quite taken with your room. They told me of the countless nights they spend in your room… they hiss about how you call out."

Sasuke inwardly cringed. He had snakes spying at him? Sasuke could admit he wasn't as powerful as he thought, but he thought he was at least able to detect when someone or something entered his room without his consent. He had caught several upstart oto-nin trying to enter his room, looking for his weakness so they may claim his spot by Orochimaru's side.

"Kei and Yuki… two names every night," The Sannin whispered. "Who are they?"

Sasuke wished he could fervently deny their existence, he wished he could tell Orochimaru that they were no body and that they didn't exist in his world anymore, but he couldn't. Any lie he told trying to deny them would be found out. Orochimaru had probably already investigated the names and came up with an answer to one. But he could still try something, "They are my past, Orochimaru-sama," he spoke confidently.

"I find myself intrigued Sasuke-kun. When one of my spies went to look into these names they came back with one. Hatake Kei, your old sensei's little brother, and the very person you protected by coming here. But then the trail ends… who is Yuki? When discreetly asking around my spy only learned that Yuki was a woman you once announced you would marry. But there is no Yuki living in Konoha around your age. There is no Yuki in Konoha you could have encountered because surprisingly there is no Yuki in Konoha period. Sasuke-kun, please tell me about Yuki-chan." It wasn't a question or suggestion, it was a demand.

"Yuki does not exist," he answered truthfully. Yuki was his childish dream, a girl that he wished to marry and rebuild his clan with but she had been shattered. Learning that Kei, his Kei, had been Yuki had been tough but he didn't care. Kei was everything. Kei was strong, intelligent, kind, and Yuki. He was Yuki but also so much more that Sasuke felt relief. He had wavering feelings for his sensei's little brother but he tried to deny them, he tried to forget that they existed so that his heart would remain true to Yuki. But Kei was Yuki and so much more.

"Ah, but I find that hard to believe Sasuke-kun. You call her name so desperately at night. I wondered why you never took up some of the other's attentions towards you. You are a very fine looking boy… but you always ignored them. Was it because of Yuki? You claimed to love her before, even told your fans you would marry her."

Sasuke kept his eyes lowered as he spoke calmly, "Yuki does not exist."

"Does she live outside Konoha? A merchant's daughter perhaps?" Orochimaru persisted. "I could find her for you Sasuke-kun. I could bring her here and let you two live together…"

Knowing the Sannin wouldn't stop until he thought he knew everything, Sasuke started spinning his tale. "Yuki was a girl I made up. I had been struggling with the betrayal of my brother and the pressure from the council. I made her up in my mind. She was my perfect girl. When I felt lonely I would imagine she was there and I would talk to her. Overtime I wished that she were real so that I could marry her one day, but as I grew up I knew I had to stop pretending and face reality. Yuki does not exist because she is nothing but a character my mind made up."

"And yet you call her name at night… Pity I wished to see this woman of such beauty that she captured your interest but now I learn she is no more a threat than Hatake Kei," Orochimaru spoke casually.

Sasuke's head snapped up. Kei wasn't a threat? Did the man not know of Kei's power or how deadly he was when working with Makoto? Sasuke was positive they had a page in the bingo book. Was Orochimaru so arrogant that he believed Kei beneath him?

Orochimaru seemed happy at his reaction. A wicked grin spread across his face as he leaned forward. "I guess you wouldn't know, not having kept in contact with your old village after all… but Hatake Kei has been Killed. In. Action," he emphasized the last three words with glee.

'Killed?' Sasuke's mind repeated the word. That couldn't have happened. Kei was away, he was supposed to be in a distant land safe, waiting until the time was right to kill the Akatsuki.

Orochimaru took his silence as an invitation to continue. "My spy uncovered the file. Kei and his partner were on a mission and got trapped in a building that was blown up. No traces of them were found- very tragic if I do say so myself. Though now I have a problem. Kei-kun was the reason you came here."

Kei…he couldn't…. Sasuke promptly shut down any train of thought that would convince him of Kei's death. Kei was strong and wouldn't die from a simple house explosion. No, there was more to the story that the file didn't state and Sasuke could bet it was merely a cover-up, an excuse so that Kei could freely move in the shadows and finish his mission.

Returning his focus back to Orochimaru and his last statement, Sasuke knew he needed to think fast. If Orochimaru thought that with Kei dead Sasuke might do something foolish, he needed to stop that line of thought before he ended up dead or with a blown cover. Speaking coldly Sasuke lowered his eyes once more, "It doesn't matter. Kei is my past and therefore I no longer care what happens to him. Frankly, it is good news to know that another Hatake has left this world forever. I have no connections left to Konoha."

The Sannin chuckled some more before he stroked Sasuke's cheek tenderly. "So cold… whatever would your old sensei think of the way he speak about his brother's death?"

"He would not know for I would not give him time to start a conversation before I killed him," Sasuke answered.

"Your loyalty seems so fickle when you speak like that but time will tell in the end. Sasuke-kun, you are my greatest treasure, loyal or not," Orochimaru hissed in pleasure. The Sannin started leaning forward, intent on pushing his advances on Sasuke, but before their lips could connect Sasuke turned away.

The man didn't take offence, merely finding humour in his actions. "Still so stubborn Sasuke-kun, but no worries, one day your body will belong to me completely."

Sasuke didn't shudder in revulsion because he knew that Orochimaru would be dead by his own hand before that happened. "Do you need anything else Orochimaru-sama?"

"No, Sasuke-kun, I believe our conversation is over."

o.O.o

Walking down the aisle between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables, Kei delicately dropped a small bag of gold in Fred Weasley's pocket. They struck an arrangement prior and Kei was filling his side of it, while peeking glances to all sides ensuring no one noticed his actions. Yes, Makoto had seen but that was expected of his partner. The wizards hadn't seen a thing though, and if it weren't for the sudden weight in his pocket, Kei was sure Fred wouldn't have known either.

It had been a stroke of good luck really, befriending the twins, as they were so full of fun and devious ideas that it reminded Kei of home. Hogwarts had some enjoyable parts but overall it was too grey for him. The walls were grey, the floors and ceilings were grey… the weather wasn't the best so often the skies were grey as well. At home there was colour everywhere. Whether it was a new building, some jutsu, or the different colours of dango- there were colours. Hogwarts was grey filled with black robes. The small splashes of colour were badges, but besides the visual colours everything followed a routine. The twins mixed it up. They explored outside the regular confines of student life and made everything brighter.

His home was bright, full of adventure and new things to see and learn. Here it was turning a small brown match into a grey silver needle and then back. Unless he could make those needles larger and use that levitation charm he learned to spear his enemies from all sides, he didn't see the point in learning such a transfiguration. In the woods you used your matches to create fire. If your clothes ripped, you left them because fire was more important. Yes fire could be used by the enemies to find you, but you needed fire for warmth on cold nights and you needed it to cook food. Fire was good for sending signals to Konoha if a member of your party was seriously injured and you didn't think they would make it to the gate with just you. Fire was life, and yet the wizards wanted to turn their connection to it into a needle? He didn't get it.

At least the twins used magic to make others laugh and smile. He didn't see how knowing about goblin wars made people smile, but pranks did and Kei liked that. He needed that. And just like the twins, he found that his two friends were a great source of entertainment outside of the grey tones of magic.

Sitting beside Louis, Kei was curious about Christopher's behavior. "Louis… why is Chris staring at you like that?"

The boy squirmed beside him as an arm was wrapped around his growling stomach. "It's the whole 'can't see you eat' rule," the boy whined. "He's been staring at me the whole time since he knows I can't eat a thing until he looks away."

Christopher very slowly speared a piece of chicken on his plate and raised it to his lips. He seemed to take pleasure in torturing Pucey with his slow chewing and deliberate sounds of appreciation.

Feeling a bit mischievous, Kei waited until Chris blinked. As the blonde's eyes closed, Kei stole a large piece of roast beef off Louis' plate and shoved it into the hungry boy's mouth. When Chris' eyes were open again he looked shocked to see food in the brunette's mouth. "W-what? But How?" he asked.

Grinning, and showing off his mouth full of beef and gravy, Louis was quite happy to swallow his food in pleasure. "I'm a ninja!" he cried as the food went down. "With the help of Kei of course."

Chris shot him a look but Kei grinned happily and started filling his own plate. The act seemed to spur on the blonde's ire as he doubled his efforts on watching Louis, going as far as to try to stop blinking. Kei watched closely and once the strain became too much for the blonde, Kei was quick to use his superior speed and shove more food in his friend's mouth. Louis was happy to go along with it, happily pointing out what he would like Kei to feed him next as he waited for their friends eyes to dry out enough. As the process repeated itself several times Chris finally gave up.

"This isn't fair," he whined. "Kei is a master ninja and Louis is his apprentice…it's unfair for two ninja's to be picking on a civilian," he argued.

"Should I feed you too?" Kei asked the blond.

Chris' cheeks tinged pink as he looked away. "I am perfectly fine feeding myself."

Louis grinned wickedly as he leaned over the table and brought their faces close together, "Are you embarrassed?" Louis asked. "Do you want Kei to feed? Do you want Kei to hug you?" Louis' voice adopted a sing song quality as he teased his friend. "Do you want Kei to-"

"Oh shut up you!" Chris snapped. "I don't need to be fed or treated like a child."

Louis chuckled as he sat back. "Did I hit a sore spot?" He looked entirely too pleased with himself.

The blond grumpily crossed his arms and looked away from them. "This entire conversation is ridiculous and I refuse to participate."

"Aww, Kei look at him pout, isn't it so cute?"

Slightly confused by the two boys, Kei decided to ignore the pair as he prepared his own plate of food. As he reached over to take a piece of chicken his hand trembled before his fingers lost all strength and the fork fell from his fingers. The tremor started travelling through his body, and Kei started to slightly panic.

'No, not at a time like this,' he mentally screamed. He used his other hand to try and grab his medicine out of his pocket, but he could feel the strength leave his limbs. He struggled, fighting his own body, hoping that he could just fight off this one seizure. It was a horrible time. He was surrounded by civilians and he didn't want any of them to know. He felt them, bolts of lightning shooting through his body, making him twitch. He could feel them getting stronger and he started to slip under the table, hoping that no one would notice his little episode.

He was slipping, slipping as his tremors were getting worse . But then he came. Kei appreciated his partner. He had since the day they met, and now was no different. As Makoto's arms wrapped around him and swiftly took him from the hall, Kei allowed himself to stop fighting, let his body do what it wanted since Makoto would be there to care for him.

o.O.o

According to shinobi law, when a shinobi is declared K.I.A or missing, their possessions are taken by the village to be used as needed. Any money would be returned to the village bank account, weapons melted done back to its raw material.

For weeks the Hokage had held the council at bay, the meddling fools demanding that they clean out Kei and Makoto's rooms. But they finally revolts and won, any moment several ANBU would descend on the Hatake apartment clean out his Makoto's room, and take everything Kei owned.

The most Tsunade could do was tell him who was coming and when.

Walking into Makoto's room, Kakashi felt a heavy weight settle over him. When Makoto had first moved in the room had been used for storage. Dusty boxes had occupied the corners, dust bunnies hid in the shadows, but he didn't mind. Makoto and Kei had worked the entire afternoon cleaning the room and setting it up for the teenager to use. Even then the walls had been bare, the closet empty… but now it was full.

The walls were covered with weapons, leaving barely any of the original colour to peek through. The closet was full of shinobi wear and disguises. A few floorboards were loose, setting up a trap for any sticky fingers that entered. If anyone dared to try and rob them their hands would be removed. They never kept their money here. They hid it in other places; kept most of it on them… stashed some with Kei's ninken.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Kakashi got to work. He summoned his dogs, and put them to work. They were quick and efficient, gathering both boys' possessions and storing them away in storage scrolls, which Kakashi attached to his ninken. They cleaned the room of everything, hiding away everything so that when the ANBU came they would leave empty handed.

Kei would return, Kakashi knew he would so these council members did not deserve to steal Kei's things. Kakashi couldn't personally go help his brother, but he could at least do this for him.

o.O.o

He had seen it. He had seen everything his little partner did since he entered the dining hall. The days were getting longer to him. It seemed that at the start of the year where the day seemed to fly by, now they dragged on. As Kei got weaker, Makoto felt older. He watched as Kei dropped money into the red-heads pocket. He watched as Kei joined his friends and helped the brunet to eat. It all seemed so simple… As if Kei were a simple wizard student but he wasn't. If he was than Makoto wouldn't worry so much, he wouldn't need to watch the Hatake's every step and he wouldn't even be at the school in the first place.

Then he saw Kei twitch. The fork dropped and with it so did Makoto's stomach. He narrowed his eyes as he watched the little shinobi struggle to reach his pocket but failed. Standing smoothly without alerting the staff around him, Makoto walked casually down the aisle to his target.

It wasn't hard to see Kei trying to escape, so he sped up his step a little. Reaching his partner he babbled something nonsensical in Japanese to the rest of the table and picked up Kei and took him out of the hall. Reaching a shadowed corner, Makoto quickly whipped out the vial containing Kei's seizure medication and fed it to his partner. He massaged Kei's throat, encouraging him to swallow, barely sparing a glance to the two followers.

Makoto help onto Kei tightly until the seizure passed. Soothingly, Makoto started petting his partner's hair to help lull him into a restful sleep. _"Shhh, just sleep and heal little one,"_ he whispered in Japanese repeatedly. _"Sleep and heal… sleep and heal…"_

The days were becoming harder and longer as Kei got weaker… but it would be over soon. Kei only had three goals left. Finish the stone, plant the stone, and kill Tobi. Then he can rest. Whether eternally or in a hospital didn't matter to Makoto. He knew which one he would prefer though.

When he concluded Kei was sleeping peacefully, he picked him up and took him to his rooms. Kei would sleep with him tonight, for his own peace of mind.

As Makoto walked towards his rooms, he stopped suddenly as he heard a noise. There was a slight hissing and the sound of something sliding over the stone floor. Taking a slow step forward, Makoto turned his ear towards the noise. Kei was better at hearing things, but he was currently detained, so Makoto needed to rely on his own senses.

Walking towards the corner, he peeked around the corner to spot a large scaly body.

He froze.

* * *

**Results:**

Who has the crazier eyes? Madeye- 8, Tie- 1, Uchiha- 9

**Battle Royale!**

Whose better at giving Death the middle finger?

_Voldemort vs. Orochimaru_

Who is a more compassionate teacher?

_Remus vs. Iruka_


End file.
